


You Call It Chaos, We Call It Family

by My_LittleCorner



Series: Accidentally on Purpose [2]
Category: Jurassic World Trilogy (Movies)
Genre: A lot of feels, Clawen, DOMESTIC CLAWEN, F/M, Kids you wouldn’t want to babysit, Might have references to Jurassic World and Fallen Kingdom, Romance, Single Parenting, clawen au, lots of humor, some angst but not much I promise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-19
Updated: 2019-02-05
Packaged: 2019-08-26 06:01:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 44,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16675900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/My_LittleCorner/pseuds/My_LittleCorner
Summary: [Clawen AU] {Sequel to ‘It Had to Be You’}Claire and Owen managed to survive a chaotic day at the zoo. Now they have to juggle their relationship on top of messy exes and troublemakers Mason and Lizzie.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Special thanks to SarynotSary for dedicating some of her valuable time to proof-read my work. You are the best, girl!

It had been three weeks since that long day at the zoo, a day that Claire couldn’t stop referring back to every time she and Brenda got together for Mason and Lizzie to have a play date. A lot had happened the week that Brenda and her husband spent in Hawaii, and it seemed like the last ten days weren’t enough for neither Lizzie’s mom nor Claire to let it go. 

Claire was a clever woman and she didn’t bring up Owen around Brenda, instead she let the blonde woman do that. Of course she had heard from Lizzie that the redhead and her ex-husband had spent a lot of quality time together while she was away. Claire had the perfect alibi, casually pointing out the reminder that Owen was standing in for her. 

However, Claire now had her own opinion of the man and didn’t miss the opportunity to let Brenda know he wasn’t as bad as she pictured him to be. Of course always leaving out that she had been seeing him since the day they had met. 

“He isn’t that bad~” Claire rolled her eyes after hearing Brenda ditching Owen for something he had done god knows how long ago. 

“How do you know? You only had to deal with him for a week, and for just a few hours a day, maybe!” The blonde woman pointed out. “I had to deal with him for four years. I really feel sorry for the woman who will end up with that basket case.” She chuckled.

Claire frowned and shook her head, “Lizzie adores him and you can see he really tries his best. It would impress you how many things he picked up not only at the zoo but throughout the whole week.” 

Brenda shook her head, “he went from letting her have ice-cream for breakfast to actually make her some eggs. You told me that already.” 

“I would give anything to have Mason eat ice-cream with his dad. I wouldn’t care if it’s for breakfast or dinner.” Claire admitted, “he wants to be there for her...why are you taking this away from him and her for that matter?” 

“If he wants to have some time with Isabella, he has to earn it. I have never understood why you would immediately jump at the chance of letting Josh take Mason whenever he pleases; it doesn’t work like that...” 

“He fixed her a room at his place! She went from sleeping on the couch to having her own little room and bed.” Claire pointed out. “And how is he going to prove himself to you if you won’t let him?” She shook her head, “and about the second thing you said… it’s because it makes Mason happy, Brenda. He would give anything to spend some time with his dad, and as much as I don’t like Josh, I love my son more than anything in the world and his happiness comes first. You are letting your own grudges get in the way of your daughter.” 

“I don’t know. I have to think about it.” Brenda shrugged. 

“You could start by letting him pick her up from school from time to time. You should see her face whenever he shows up.” Claire smiled, making sure it came out as a genuine smile for Lizzie, rather than for Owen, although she had to admit, he was her main thought as she pronounced those words. Of course, she actually meant what she said as a way of letting Brenda know Owen and his daughter deserved to spend more time with each other, but she really couldn’t help the butterflies in her stomach at the mere thought of him.

“I said I’ll think about it.” Brenda eyed the redhead. “If you are so pro-Owen maybe you should babysit him while he hangs out with Isabella.” Brenda laughed.

Claire shook her head and looked down, “I already did that for a week.” She pointed out. 

“Maybe this upcoming weekend.” Brenda picked on Claire’s point. She trusted the redhead and knew her well enough to know that if she was suggesting this, it was because she truly believed Owen was capable of spending a weekend with Lizzie without killing her. 

The redhead smiled lightly and nodded.

“ _Maybe_...” 

 

* * *

 

“No, Brenda...it’s fine. You don’t owe me anything!” Claire insisted over the phone. This was the fourth time in the last couple of weeks that she volunteered to pick the kids up from karate or any other extracurricular activity they had that day. Both working mothers, who found it hard to find a babysitter, had come up with the solution to keep the kids in school after hours and enroll them in every single activity they offered. That included drama club, with both kids always featured in every play and musical the school would put together. 

Once it had been stablished that the redhead would handle the kids after school, Owen would be the one who actually picked his daughter up and spent some quality time with her. Lizzie was already smart and old enough to understand that this was a secret, therefore she always told a little white lie to her mom when asked how she’d spent her afternoon with Claire. 

“It’s a done deal, babe~” The redhead smiled once she hung up, Owen standing in front of her. He happily hugged her tightly from the waist and pulled her close, kissing her softly. 

“Thank you~” He playfully peppered her face with kisses. 

“You have fun with her, okay?” Claire smiled faintly. “Would it be too much trouble to drop Mason here when you pick her up?” She frowned. It was a busy day at work and she didn’t think she’d be able to make it to their school after rehearsal to pick him up. 

“I tell you what, gorgeous~” He brushed his fingers through her hair, “how about he hangs out with Lizzie and me, and once you are off work we all go out for dinner?” He smiled. She nodded softly, nibbling on her lower lip. “Huh?” Owen tilted his head hoping she’d say something and pressed his lips against her forehead. 

“Thank you.” She murmured, her green eyes looking up to fall upon his. 

“You are welcome! He is a great kid, so…” He nudged her. 

“He thinks you are pretty cool, too.” Claire slowly offered a smile. 

“What about his mom? Does she think I’m cool too?” He wiggled his eyebrows flirting with her. 

Claire giggled and ran her fingers along the tool belt he was wearing around his waist, “She thinks you are very cool.” She nodded, slowly pulling the hammer out of his tool belt and letting her fingers play with it a little. “And very sexy~” She bit on her lower lip before putting the hammer back on its respective loop. 

“How sexy?” He inched closer, making her step backwards until she hit her desk. He rested both his hands beside her hips, trapping her. 

“So sexy...that I sometimes go out there and watch you work around with those tools~” She confessed, blushing lightly. 

“You like it when your guy does heavy manual labor, huh?” He offered a cheeky grin. 

Claire nodded softly, closing her eyes and letting her lips brush up his chin and against his lips, “I might ask the construction supervisor to have you lose that shirt once you clock in...” She murmured, her hands slowly sliding up his firm abdomen over his sweaty shirt. 

“I’ll tell you what...” He gulped, letting his fingers grip tight around the edge of her desk to keep his hands from pulling her up on it and do something he would regret. 

“What~” Claire cried out in a whisper. The sexual tension between them growing more and more with each passing day. It ached how much she wanted to feel his hands all over her body, but a tight work schedule and a seven-year-old son running around her place prevented her from going there. 

Owen’s breathing grew heavy, her freckled hands massaging his pectorals letting him know how mutual this desperate need was, “I’ll bring the tool belt with me...and you can have me shirtless after I cock out...”

Claire laughed and blushed bright red, hiding her face against his neck. 

“I mean clock out!” He laughed and pressing a kiss on the top of her head he groaned, kicking himself for ruining the moment like that. “I’m in desperate need of a cold shower~” He chuckled.

 

* * *

 

“Hi Aunt Karen!” Mason called out once the door had been answered. He squeezed himself between both Dearing sisters and ran off to find Gray. The seven-year-old was so excited to play with the ‘Alpha’ Trainable Raptor his cousin had gotten him for his birthday. 

“Mason! You give your aunt a hug, c’mon...” Claire stopped him on his tracks. The boy complained and turning around he headed back and hugged her waist. After a few seconds, green eyes looked up toward his mom to make sure it was okay to let go and run to find Gray. 

Claire nodded and watched as the kid ran into the house and headed upstairs, “Say hello to your uncle and Zach too!” She called out, watching him disappear. 

“Yes, mom!” He shouted back. Both Gray and Mason had a close bond over dinosaurs. The kid could spend hours in his cousin’s bedroom looking at all the dinosaur posters he had and playing with some cool dinosaur toys. The younger Mitchell brother would also share all sorts of fun facts about the prehistoric creatures, especially about his favorite: the Mosasaurus. 

By the time Mason made it to Gray’s bedroom, his cousin was already playing with his new toy. It was very advanced technology. The small electronic raptor was able to move back and forth as well as moving its head and eyes. It was also capable of learning commands and had a little speaker from which all sorts of callings came out. The plastic animal could also open and close its mouth to emulate the action of getting a treat from its trainer. The toy came with a remote control, which Gray was using to make the toy do all these things. 

“She’s so cool!” Mason kneeled down on the floor next to his cousin. 

“Why don’t you pet her! See what she does...” Gray suggested. 

Mason nodded and slowly reached out, using his fingers to rub the top of the robot’s head and the raptor chirped back, as if letting him know she liked it when her alpha pet her like that. 

Downstairs, Karen and Claire were in the kitchen, waiting for the coffee machine to beep so they could sit down and just catch up a little bit. They hadn’t seen each other in a month or so and the last time they had talked over the phone had been that time Claire had called her to see if she could take Mason to the zoo. 

“How are things with you?” Karen wondered, she always tried to make sure Claire didn’t need anything. It was this big sister protective gene she had. She was very supportive and Claire appreciated that— well, supportive with almost everything, since it took some serious begging and sometimes bribing for her to look after Mason; but that was the kid’s fault for being so mischievous.

“They are great!” Claire grinned, reaching out for a couple of mugs from the cupboard. 

“I can tell.” Karen smiled, the redhead looked indeed more relaxed, and she had this peculiar smile on her face. 

“I got the promotion at work!” The younger sister nibbled on her lower lip before she turned around. “They started the remodeling last week. I hope you can bring Gray once it’s done.” She offered, she knew her nephew had a fascination for dinosaurs. 

“You did!?” Karen was happy for her sister, “not that I thought you wouldn’t, but I’m so glad you did! You deserve this!” The elder Dearing hugged her sister before she went looking for milk in the fridge. 

Claire smiled back, happy to see her sister so proud of her. She poured a little milk in her coffee and started stirring it with a teaspoon before taking the first sip.

“I don’t think I ever say enough times how impressive what you manage to pull off for Mason is. You are Wonder Woman~” She complimented. Karen was a working mother of two who had a husband by her side, and by the end of the week she was barely able to stand up, and here was her younger sister, a working single mother to a handful of a kid who still managed to impress her boss and get a promotion. 

“Speaking of Mason~” Claire decided to take advantage of this little moment where her big sister was so proud of her and felt she deserved the world for her hard work. “Do you think you can take care of him on Friday night?” The redhead offered an apologetic grin, “I would pick him up on Saturday before noon.” She promised. “Let him sleep in, you won’t even know he’s there!” She begged. 

“Take care of him overnight?” Karen raised her eyebrows and shook her head, but then she realized her sister never really asked her to have him for a night unless it was work related. “Is this because of an emergency at work?” She questioned, it was three days in advance and she usually called last minute with a rush in her voice. 

“Um... more like an urgency.” Claire bit on her lower lip, hugging her mug between her hands, “the urgency to get laid~” She muttered, but of course her sister heard it.

“What!?” Karen’s eyes widened. “No way.” She grimaced.

“C’mon, please!! When have I ever asked you for anything?” Claire begged. “I mean, what happened to that whole stuff about me working so hard and —“ She sighed. 

“Who is this guy anyways?” Karen arched an eyebrow, curiosity having the best on her. This was the first time Claire ever talked to her about dating since Josh.

“He’s a guy I’ve been seeing for about three weeks now, but I really REALLY like him and I mean... it’s been so long, Karen.” She blushed. “So long I’m sure I grew cobwebs down there.” 

“Don’t be ridiculous!” Karen guffawed, rolling her eyes afterwards.

“It’s been five years!” The redhead confessed. “I barely have time to do anything with Mason.” She frowned.

“Wow...yeah, that’s a long time!” Karen agreed, “but that doesn’t mean you just jump into bed with someone on the first date.” The blonde tried to explain.

“It’s not like that. We have spent a lot of time together, we just haven’t _dated_ yet.” She explained, “and I really want to _date_ him...”

Karen looked down to her mug and then slowly fixed her eyes on her sister’s pleading ones, before letting out a sigh. “Why don’t you ask Lizzie’s mom?” The blonde knew Mason’s best friend and how Claire and Brenda were always trying to back each other up. 

“Because...” She shrugged.

“What? You two have managed to survive chaos together for four years now.” She recalled, narrowing her eyes at her sister. 

Claire took a deep breath and tightened her grip around her mug, closing her eyes, bracing for the words that were about to leave her mouth: “Karen… The guy I’ve been wanting to sleep with… is her ex-husband.” She blushed, her eyes looking up to find her sister staring back at her in shock. 

 

* * *

 

“She said she’d get inside and have a full inspection.” Claire explained while dropping a couple of cereal boxes into a shopping cart. Owen was right behind her, holding her waist and nibbling on her shoulder. 

Brenda had eventually agreed to let Lizzie spend the weekend with Owen; she would drop her off at noon on Saturday and pick her up on Sunday afternoon, so Claire had taken Owen grocery shopping that Friday night, to make sure he would be prepared for what would be a crucial visit from his ex. “That means she’s going to open your fridge and cupboards and make sure you have enough healthy food for her daughter.” The redhead added, looking over her shoulder and letting Owen steal a kiss from her. 

“And here I was, thinking I only had to clean around.... which I did! Before meeting you guys here.” Owen crossed that off the list, his eyes falling on Mason who was trying to reach the top shelf by jumping as hard as he could. 

Claire laughed and shook her head, “you wish we were that simple, huh?” She teased him, her hand caressing his before she felt him release her. 

“Here you go, buddy.” Owen reached the package of Rocky Road Trip Oreos Mason was desperately trying to reach. 

The boy hugged the cookies against his chest, his green eyes looking up at his mom like a deer caught in the headlights, “you know the rules, baby.” The redhead shook her head. 

Mason reluctantly put the cookies back on the shelf and looked down, arms crossed and a big pout on his face.

Claire sighed and ignored that manipulative attitude from her son, one she was too familiar with for it to work on her. She went looking for some of the peanut butter cookies Lizzie liked and dropped a package of those into their cart.

“Hey mommy, look!” Mason called out. Looking up, Claire found her son sitting on Owen’s shoulders. “I reached the top shelf, so we get to buy the cookies and the snacks I want!” The boy and Owen high fived.

“That’s not —“ 

“Claire?” Karen smiled, making the redhead turn around after interrupting her.  

“Hi Aunt Karen!” Mason called out, both him and Owen waving at her before the kid started reaching for all the different cookies on that top shelf. He would drop them into Owen’s hands and the man would place them in their cart. 

“Why is my nephew on that man’s shoulders?” Karen frowned, not really approving of the picture.

“That’s Owen. He’s ... um... he’s my...” Claire blushed and cleared her throat. “He is the guy I told you about.” She murmured so he couldn’t hear that she had discussed him with her sister already. 

“You never mentioned he knew Mason.” Karen curved an eyebrow. She was not a single mother, but she still knew there was this sort of unwritten rule saying moms didn’t introduce their kids to their hookups until they made it ‘official’… And so far, Claire hadn’t even been able to label Owen. 

“Wanna go get some ice-cream?” Owen asked the kid. 

“Yes! Can I ride on your shoulders?” Mason asked.

“You ain’t coming down until we get in that cab!” Owen promised. 

“Cool!” 

Owen inched closer to the ladies and rested his hand on the small of Claire’s back. 

“Karen this is Owen.” The redhead introduced them. “This is my sister Karen.” She smiled, looking over to Owen.

“Owen is my friend, Aunt Karen!” Mason smiled from over the man’s shoulders. 

Owen chuckled and shook his head, “nice to meet you.” He smiled, offering a handshake. “We are going to go get some ice-cream, is there anything on that list of yours from the freezer I should get too?”

Claire nodded and handed him the piece of paper with the list she had put together for him, before smiling and looking up at Mason. “Remember the second rule? Just 5 things!” She recalled. 

“Awwww...” The kid complained. 

“That’s five things each!” Owen added, cheering Mason up. He playfully poked his tongue out at Claire and Mason mirrored him. 

The redhead narrowed her eyes and shook her head, Owen chuckled and gently kissed her cheek. He then brought Mason down so he could kiss her other cheek. “Be right back,” Owen announced before adjusting Mason back on his shoulders. “Nice meeting you, Karen.” The man said, and, pushing their cart, he walked down the aisle to the freezers at the end. 

Karen had been quietly watching the whole scene unfold and once Owen and Mason had taken a left at the end of the aisle, Claire’s attention went back to her, “I told you he is Lizzie’s dad, didn’t I?” Claire picked back on their conversation. “I met him that day at the zoo, it wasn’t like I was going to hide Mason from him.” She explained. 

“He and Mason seem to have built a strong bond already.” Karen noticed, “I’ve never seen him so gleeful before!” She chuckled and looked over to Claire, who was smiling, obviously enjoying the fact that her son was developing a solid relationship with Owen. Karen knew that both Zach and her husband were always trying to do this kind of thing with Mason, but he had never enjoyed himself with either one of them as much as he did with Owen. 

Claire nodded and blushed. Karen tilted her head and tried to find her sister’s eyes. “You two really like him, huh?” The blonde teased, “and by a first impression, I can tell he really likes you too... both of you.” She admitted, smiling warmly.

The younger sister smiled back, her face glowing with affection. “And he is very handsome too.” Karen added, not really letting Claire say anything, but no words were needed when she had such a red blush in her cheeks and bright spark in her eyes. 

“And so sexy~” Claire murmured before she giggled. 

Karen smirked, before adding: “did you find a babysitter for tonight?”

Claire shook her head. “No. That will have to wait.” She sighed, crossing her arms and hunching her shoulders. 

Soon enough, Owen was back with Mason. He handed the redhead the list back, his hand gently brushing her long red hair.

“So, we are having pizza and a movie tonight with Gray and Zach, do you want to come?” Karen asked Mason. 

The redhead’s green eyes immediately lit up. She smiled at her sister and just hoped Mason would agree to that. 

“We are doing a superheroes marathon!” Karen added, “I see you’d be perfectly ready to go with that cool Spider-Man shirt you are wearing. What do you say?” 

“I’m in!!!” Mason nodded enthusiastically.

“Alright! Want to help me with the last few things on my list? I need to make sure I only get some superhero based snacks or the boys will get mad.” 

“Yes! I’ll make sure you get the best kind!” Mason assured her. Once Owen set him down, the boy took his aunt’s hand and smiled up at her. 

Claire crouched down and kissed his forehead. “I’ll pick you up tomorrow at noon, okay? Please be good.” She begged. 

“Yes mommy!” He promised. 

Back on her feet, the redhead hugged her sister tightly. “Thank you. I owe you one, big time.” She sighed and pulled away. 

Mason waved goodbye, both Claire and Owen waving back until he turned around. “What are you doing?” Owen laughed. 

“I’m not getting any of this crap.” She started putting away all those cookies Owen had helped Mason bring down from the top shelf. 

 

* * *

 

Claire’s giggles filled Owen’s loft that following morning. They had lost track of time after spending almost all night enjoying their time alone away from children and everything else. 

He adjusted under the sheets on top of her, his hands slowly finding her breast and massaging it. Claire moaned into his lips and kissed him hungrily. She pushed his sweaty hair back after breaking the kiss for a second and brushed her nose against his.

“Remind me to send your sister a big fruit basket...” He grinned before letting his lips pepper soft kisses on her neck and down her naked shoulders. 

Claire laughed and, shifting her legs under the sheets, she adjusted under his frame. She had lost count of how many rounds they had had throughout the night, but they still hadn’t been enough...of that she was sure.

She ran her hands up his naked chest, moaning into their kiss, feeling how their bodies got comfortable underneath the sheets. 

“Hold that thought...” Owen groaned after hearing heavy knocking against his door. 

Claire nodded and kissed him a couple of times before letting him fetch his boxers and pants. She adjusted on her back and smiled to herself, waiting for Owen to come back to bed. 

“Hi daddy!” Lizzie ran into the loft and headed straight to the little room Owen had fixed for her in what was supposed to be the a small study room. 

“Shit~” Claire felt her heart sink into her stomach hearing Lizzie’s voice bringing her back to reality. 

“Did you just wake up?” Brenda noticed his messy hair and how he was shirtless before she let herself in. 

Owen looked back to his bedroom and then rubbed the back of his neck, “you could say.” He casually agreed with her. “Didn’t you say you’d drop her off at noon?” He raised an eyebrow. 

Claire fetched her iPhone that she had left charging on Owen’s nightstand; it was thirty minutes past noon. She sent Karen a quick text message swearing she’d be there soon to pick Mason up and that she was sorry for being late. 

“Yeah~I’m actually late.” The blonde replied condescendingly. Just like Claire had predicted, Brenda was inspecting the whole place around including the fridge and cupboards to make sure he had food to feed the kid with. 

The redhead wrapped her body tightly in the sheets and quietly walked to the bedroom door so she could close it: there was no reason why Brenda would walk in there. Green eyes went wide open at the screech sound it made against the floor, she didn’t know it was unleveled and she had to pull it up a bit to have it closed. 

“What was that?” Brenda immediately heard the squeaky sound. “Those are…rats?” Owen mentally scolded himself for thinking that would be a better answer than the actual one. 

She tilted her head to try and see behind him, catching a shadow moving inside his bedroom, “you have a woman here, don’t you?” Brenda crossed her arms over her chest. “Didn’t I agree to let you have Isabella with enough time in advance for you to postpone your play dates for one night, Owen!? You truly will never change!” She pursed her lips and shook her head in disappointment.

“Yes...Yes you did.” He had never agreed with her, but he didn’t want her to get any more upset.

Brenda laughed bitterly. “You know... Claire has this impression of you, wait until she hears about this! I’m sure she’ll go back to understanding why I don’t trust you with our kid!” 

Lizzie was running all over the loft looking into drawers and under furniture. “Daddy? Have you seen Mr. Snuggles?” The blonde girl interrupted her parents’ discussion. 

The redhead had gotten dressed behind the bedroom door, and was now mentally kicking herself, hiding her face behind her hands. When she brought them down she found Lizzie standing there, smiling up at her. “Are you guys playing hide and seek?” 

“Yes...” Claire whispered, placing her finger on her lips. “Want to play? You stay here with me and don’t make a sound.” The redhead begged with a tight smile. 

“Isabella?! Come on, let's go!” Brenda was obviously done and had changed her mind. 

“C’mon... she’s already here and so thrilled!” Owen begged. 

“Isabella?” Brenda kept calling, the girl looking up at Claire wondering what she should do. “I’m stepping into the bedroom now, I know you are there... so cover everything you don’t want me to see...” Brenda called out. 

Claire let out a squeaky whimper and closed her eyes, her arms holding Lizzie close to her while they both hid behind the door. 

Brenda found the room empty and scratched her head. She slowly walked around to peek behind the door and immediately released a gasp. 

“Hi…” A very ashamed and blushing redhead greeted her. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tons of thanks to SarynotSary for proof-reading <3

“Have you lost your mind!?” Claire could see in Brenda’s eyes how upset she was. She had never seen the blonde this furious, and right now it was scaring her how those blue eyes were almost poking out, as if they would jump out and strangle her. 

“Maybe?” Claire grinned lightly, slowly letting go of Lizzie and squeezing out from behind the door. She rubbed her forehead while she walked back to the living room, looking for Owen. She knew it would be inevitable to hear his ex freak out at this point, and she would rather do this with him standing by her side. 

“MAYBE!?” Brenda snorted.

“Well...I mean—“ Claire knew how off limits exes were in the eyes of friends, but in her defense, she _had_ tried to avoid this…a little...at first.

“How long have you two been sleeping together?” Brenda questioned them, talking between her teeth since Lizzie was around. 

“Just this time. It happened last night.” Claire assured her. 

“Yeah, finally…” Owen said, somewhat relived, earning a look from both women. He wasn’t really helping their case here and Brenda was now curious about how long they had been wanting to do this. 

“I want a timeline, and I want it detailed.” The blonde crossed her arms against her chest. “Who made the first move? Where were you? Do the kids know? Oh my god, please tell me you haven’t done anything in front of the kids.” Brenda was disgusted just by the images popping into her head.

“No! Of course not!” Claire insisted. 

“Daddy and Claire sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g!” Lizzie smiled while playing on the couch. She and Mason had taken on singing this to them from time to time. “First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes baby in the baby carriage!” 

“Riiiiight.” Claire didn’t know if the other mom was hurt or upset... it was probably both. She knew it would be better to just be honest and come clean now that they had been caught in the act than deal with it later. 

“Okay, so we have kissed in front of them...a little, but that’s about it! I promise.” 

“So how did he sweep you off your feet, huh?” Brenda was still interested in learning every detail. “I’m really curious to hear how YOU, of all people, ended up in bed with MY ex-husband.” 

“They fell in love at the zoo! By the cotton candy booth!” 

“Fell in—now that’s—that’s not—” Owen’s eyes widened and he brought his hands up in a ‘calm down’ motion. “We have only been together for like three weeks, WAY too soon for that choice of words.” He rubbed the back of his neck. 

Claire was covering her face with her hands. She really wanted a hole to swallow her whole so she could escape this awkwardness. “It happened at the zoo. I’m not sure who made the first move, I-… I guess it was mutual.” She shrugged, looking briefly at Owen for a hint of a confirmation. “I’m really sorry...I couldn’t help myself. And I’m not stopping this either.” She confessed. 

“So you’ve been exchanging saliva with MY ex-husband since the moment you met?”

“Ewwwww” The little blonde girl had all her senses into the conversation, very eager to corroborate any detail that came up. 

“No...not from the moment we met... more like… five or six hours later?” Owen explained, an uneasy toothy smile on his face. 

“How is that even better??!!” His ex’s jaw dropped, before she looked back at Claire. “I thought there was something that had changed in him that I was missing, and that’s why you were constantly giving a good word for him.” Brenda shook her head, disappointed. “Figures all you wanted was to get in his pants.” She chuckled bitterly.

“I did see something in him that you were missing, Brenda. I was not lying when I told you all those things.” Claire tried to assure her.

“You know what makes you truly an asshole, Owen?” The blonde frowned, her finger pointing at his naked chest. “That all that shit Claire swears that you are… a great man who loves his daughter and would do anything to see her happy?” She sighed, her eyes constantly drifting between him and Claire. “You never did ANY of that when you were with me. So it SUCKS that you are here, being the man I wanted you to be, WITH HER. While you never even bothered trying when you were with me.” Her voice cracked.

Green eyes widened at that. It was very relatable. She would snap if Josh ever pulled this off with her. Claire gulped and looked away, shame and guilt gnawing at her.

“Are you at least going to tell me why? Why a woman you’ve known for barely three weeks — and that your OWN DAUGHTER remarked you are in love with — should be worth it more than your wife?” She questioned, but Owen was silent. He knew somewhere in the constitution it said he had the right not to answer that unless he had a lawyer. 

“And you Claire. I really hope you know what you are getting yourself into…sure, he is charming at first, but don’t let his charming smiles conceal the JERK that he truly is.” Brenda was not trying to come out as salty, she just wanted to warn her friend. “But at some point, he will stop trying too hard to impress you — because that’s what he is doing: he just wants to impress you. And then his smirk will become annoying, after seeing it on his face every time he fucks up. I know right now you feel on cloud nine, but what will happen when you become the ex and the illusion breaks and you are left feeling like an idiot?” Brenda’s chest ached.

Claire’s frown grew deeper; all of this was familiar to her, after all. It resonated with the bond she and Brenda shared over how their exes seemed to be charming at first, but ended up being just irresponsible assholes. 

“You know what I mean, don’t you?” Brenda tilted her head. 

Claire nodded softly and took a slow step back. “I need to go...to the bathroom.” She gulped. “I’ll be right back.” She turned on her heels and brushed Owen’s hand off her shoulder on her way to the bathroom, shutting the door behind her and locking herself inside. 

Owen was now knocking at the door of his bathroom, hoping Claire would open and let him in. He eventually managed to have the knob unlocked and quietly walked into the room, where he found a sobbing redhead. He locked the door behind him and gently kneeled in front of Claire, who was sitting on the toilet lid.

“What are you doing here? Brenda will leave with Lizzie and you won’t be able to spend the weekend with her.” Claire murmured, wiping her own tears off her face. 

“She’ll calm down eventually.” Owen shrugged, not really concerned about that. “Right now I just wanna make sure my girlfriend is okay.” He tilted his head, trying to find her eyes, his fingers caressing the ends of her hair. 

Claire brought her eyes up from down her hands and smiled faintly. “What happens when I’m not your girlfriend anymore?” She shot him a sad smile. “Or when you start being a jerk to me too?” She sniffled, her eyes back on her hands before she felt his own holding hers in reassurance. 

“You know, it took me just half a day to prove to you that I’m worth a shot and that I can be the guy you need.” Owen kept his tone of voice soft. “And I’m ready to spend a lifetime constantly reassuring you that I’ll never let you down, if that’s the case.” He brushed his fingers down her chin, tilting her head up to make her face him, and kissed her forehead. “If you allow me to.” 

Claire smiled gently and, reaching out, she brushed her fingers against the sides of his head. He leaned closer and softly kissed her lips. 

After a few minutes, Owen and Claire came out of the bathroom holding hands. Brenda was now in the spare room, letting Lizzie show her around. She had only heard about the bedroom Owen had fixed her from Lizzie herself and from Claire. 

The blonde woman turned to face them, and once her eyes fell on their hands, Claire intertwined their fingers, letting Brenda know things between her and Owen were happening, with or without her approval. 

“I really hope you don’t have to hear me say that I told you so.” Lizzie’s mom kissed her daughter’s forehead and promised she’d come to get her the next day after lunch. 

“And you...you are a coward!” She spat, her blue eyes fixed on Owen’s hazel ones while she stood tall in front of him. 

Brenda found her way down to the lobby and out to the street. It was on her way back to her car that she walked past Owen’s bike. Something inside of her made her stop in her tracks and take a few steps back. She looked around to make sure she was alone, and, taking out the pocket knife from her keychain, she slashed both his tires. She pushed the bike onto the ground and, cleaning her hands, she headed to her car and took off. 

 

* * *

 

Wednesday afternoons were the hardest for Claire, especially now that soccer practice had started and Mason stayed at school after classes, expecting to be picked up at four. Owen, being part of the construction staff in charge of the museum’s remodeling, stole Claire away from her office from time to time. 

He liked surprising her around the hall and pin her against the wall for a kiss, before letting her carry on with her day. Owen would also surprise her with lunch sometimes: most days she didn’t even have time to bring her own to work, seeing how she spent her mornings making sure Mason had his, and that he was well fed and showered before dropping him at the bus stop. 

But today he could tell she was a little moody and having a gray day, so the man had decided to surprise her in a more expressive way. Seeing how she was too busy to take a breath, the man used his break to go to the flower market around the corner and hand-picked the most beautiful yellow daisies he could find. He got her at least a dozen, and fixed the little bouquet himself.

Once he was back, Owen casually walked into her office, immediately stealing her attention. He sat on the edge of her desk, by her side, and just by being there he managed to steal a smile from her. The man slowly brought in front of him what he was hiding behind his back, and presented her with the sweet gesture. “So, I have heard that guys should give their girls yellow flowers when their day is gray.” He smirked. 

Green eyes lit up at the beautiful arrangement he had put together and, taking the flowers, she brought them to her nose to take in their scent. Owen gently reached out for one of them and, pulling it out of the bow, he carefully placed it in her hair. “You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen in my life.” He murmured, his fingers playing with her long red hair.

Claire tilted her head and lightly kissed him back once she felt his lips brushing against hers. “What am I going to do when you are done with the remodeling?” She sighed. He was a big reason why she wasn’t losing it. This position was more and more demanding every day and she was tired most of the time. 

“Maybe you should hire me? I’ll be your caveman and hang out by the velociraptors. We can tell the kids I train them.” 

She giggled and shook her head, slowly standing up from her chair so she could settle between his legs and let him hold her. “As much as I think you’d look sexy in one of those loincloths, there’s no way in hell I’m letting other women check you out!” She said firmly, her hands massaging his chest. 

Owen chuckled and kissed her forehead. “I love the flowers.” She nuzzled tenderly into his neck and closed her eyes, taking in his scent; he was a little sweaty but she didn’t mind. It was secretly a turn on for her, to see him sweating under a tight shirt and flexing those muscles when he did that heavy manual labor. 

“I’m glad you do...” He smiled. Claire looked up and, fixing her eyes on his, she nibbled on her lower lip. “What is it, beautiful?” He tilted his head, knowing there was something on her mind. 

The redhead blushed and started playing with his shirt, unable to make eye contact. “Hey~” Owen chuckled softly, by now he was already learning her body language and could tell many things. “What is it that you want to ask me…?” He frowned, brushing her cheek tenderly. Since he had learned to read her gestures on what she needed, Owen always offered to do the things she was too shy to ask. After almost a month of being together, he was hoping she knew it was okay and that she could count on him.

“Um....” She gulped.

“I’m not saying no...so what is it, babe?” He kissed her cheek. 

“I have a meeting at four and then I gotta work until late.” She closed her eyes. “And—” she stuttered, “and—never mind.” She shook her head and, pulling away, she sat back on her chair. “I’ll figure something out.”

Brenda was supposed to be the one picking the kids up from school on Wednesdays but since the blonde was still a little upset about Claire and Owen, she had advised to ask her _boyfriend_ to do it and see if he’d bother.

Owen pouted, watching her look down at her hands. “Why is it so hard for you to ask me to back you up?” He murmured, kneeling down in front of her.

Claire shook her head and slowly rested her forehead against his, Owen’s hands cupping her cheeks. “Do you think you can pick Mason up from soccer practice and...” she sighed, “he needs to do his homework before he can play, and be showered by seven.” 

“Of course. I’ll pick him up at four, make sure he does his homework and take a shower before seven.” Owen pecked her lips gently a few times. “That wasn’t that hard was it?” He smirked gently. 

 

* * *

 

At exactly 4:00pm, Owen was outside the school to pick the boy up. He had also taken the opportunity to spend some time with his own daughter, and waited there at the soccer field with both kids for Brenda to come and pick up Lizzie. 

The blonde made it there about fifteen minutes later, only to witness Owen playing soccer with the two kids, both of them having the time of their lives beating him, scoring a couple of goals against him. At some point he had both kids running after him across the field, which left them breathless.

Lizzie and Mason rested their hands on their knees, trying to catch some air, “Hey Lizard...” Owen pointed out at her mom and watched the kid run off to her. 

He watched from afar, Mason standing by his side playing with the ball on his own. Owen tilted his head, watching Brenda tell something to their daughter: eventually the girl nodded and ran back to Owen. 

“Mommy asked where my manners are, and told me to say goodbye.” The blonde girl giggled and hugged her dad tightly, before she ran back to her mother. Both Mason and Owen waved goodbye, until mother and daughter took off. 

Owen had let Mason wear his helmet and made sure the kid was holding tight onto his waist before riding his bike back to Claire’s place. The almost eight-year-old always kept a spare key to their apartment on the keychain inside his backpack, so they had no problem getting in. 

Owen watched the kid run to his room and leave his backpack there, before meeting Owen back in the living room. Owen sent Claire a text message to let her know they were home, and now he was going to make sure the kid did his homework. 

On the other side, Claire was still sitting in that meeting, unable to stop herself from smiling at the selfie Owen had taken with Mason at her apartment. She didn’t hesitate to set it as her lock screen, after all they were her favorite boys. Claire thanked him and told him to make sure they did his math homework, since it was due the next day. 

“So your mom says we need to do your math homework.” Owen rubbed the back of his head. 

“Do you want to play with me? I have this LEGO Avengers game but I need two players to unlock the next screen.” Mason had other priorities in mind. The kid turned his Play Station 3 on and handed Owen one of the DualShock controllers. 

“Yeah...I guess one game won’t hurt anyone.” The grown up man shrugged and sat on the couch in front of the large television Claire had in the living room. 

Mason sat next to him and loaded his last game. Of course, the whole ‘one game’ thing turned into them playing for a couple of hours. It wasn’t until Mason paused their game to go pee, that Owen noticed it was already six thirty.

“Um...so I think we should get to that math homework real quick.” Owen suggested once Mason was back on the couch. 

“Do we have to?” Those green eyes were straight out of Claire’s genes and they were impossible to be denied anything. 

Owen turned the kid’s head around towards the table, avoiding eye contact. “She’s gonna kill us if your homework is not done! And you have to take a shower too!” 

“One more screen, please!!” Mason managed to release his head from Owen’s grip and fixed those big green eyes on his. 

“Fine!” The man gave up easily. Plus, playing was way more fun than some lame homework. How hard could second grade math be? They sure could finish it in a tick.

It was when both Mason and Owen recognized the peculiar clicking of six-inch heels against the floor outside the door, that they both panicked. 

The kid ran off to his room to get his backpack and Owen saved their progress and turned the console off. 

By the time Claire was turning her key in the lock to open the door, both her son and boyfriend were already at the dining room table with his math notebook and book opened.

“You aren’t finished with homework yet?” She tilted her head and checked the time on her wrist watch, it was 7:30pm. 

“What can I say? Fractions are hard!” Owen shook his head disappointed before happily taking the kiss Claire was placing on his lips. 

“Hmmm. Because he is really good at math and knows fractions really well.” She walked around and kissed the top of Mason’s head. “Ugh. Did you make sure he washed his hair?” She looked down and noticed the kid was still in his soccer uniform.

“I scored three goals today, mommy!” Mason grinned trying to distract her. 

“Please go shower.” She instructed and the kid ran off to do as told. Claire frowned and let her eyes fall on the book and notebook that weren’t even on the correct page. 

Owen was looking at her like a puppy that had just been caught in the middle of his mischief. Claire sighed and closed the book. She shook her head and let her eyes fall on his. After a second of silence she slowly slid on his lap and nuzzled his neck. “Thank you for picking him up.” She offered with a murmur. 

She was furious. It was almost Mason’s bedtime and he still had two pages of fractions to work on, but...she was still moved that Owen wanted to help her, and nothing would ruin that for her. 

“I’m sorry.” He murmured feeling her holding him tight. 

“So you guys spent all afternoon playing?” She sighed before she smiled softly. 

“Yeah~” He confessed. 

“He has been dying to unlock some screen and didn’t have anyone to do that with.” She smiled faintly. 

Owen nodded. “He does now.” He pecked her lips gently. 

“How about we order some pizza and do this damn math homework? With all three of us...we might finish it faster.” She suggested. 

 

* * *

 

An empty pizza box was on the dining room table after Claire, Owen, and Mason had eaten it all. They were almost done with homework, too. Both Owen and Claire had had to read the whole textbook explanation, and even some googling, to remember how fractions worked, but it seemed that among the three of them, they had figured it out. 

Mason’s notebooks had never been helpful for Claire when it came to studying with him, since she couldn’t understand his handwriting or the way he copied what was on the board into his notebook. Owen, however, ended up being a master at reading all that mess. 

Both Claire and Owen were quietly staring into each other’s eyes from across the table while the boy between them worked on resolving one of the last fractions of his homework. 

Once he was finished, he interrupted the adults and handed his book to Claire so she could check on the procedure and his answer. “Can we do this again?” He wondered. “Have pizza, I mean.” He asked shyly. He knew Claire wouldn’t allow him to stay up after his bedtime to do his homework a second time. 

“Yes, can we?” Owen nodded, his hazel eyes finding Claire, who was lovingly looking back at him. “Maybe do it every Wednesday.” He suggested. 

“Yes, mom! Can we?! I promise I’ll have my homework done by the time you are home!!” He begged.

“And showered?” She tilted her head. 

Mason nodded. 

“Wednesday pizza nights...” She nibbled on her lower lip. 

“Make it a thing.” Owen nodded. 

“Sounds like we are starting a tradition.” The redhead smiled and shrugged. Mason celebrated while putting his book and notebook into his backpack. “Now you brush your teeth! And get ready for bed.” Claire instructed, before the kid nodded and ran off.

Claire stood up from her chair and slid on Owen’s lap before kissing him lovingly. “Seeing how it’s too late for you now, how about you stay over on every Wednesday night, too?” She suggested with a flirty smile. 

“Yes, please...” He moaned against her lips before kissing her gently, one hand running up her back while the other brushed the side of her cheek. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to my editor in Chief.

A barefoot Mason ran off to the bathroom late at night that day. His bedtime was usually at 9:00pm and Claire had already had his bladder clocked, knowing he was usually up exactly two hours later to pee. It had been that way since he had left diapers behind. 

With this in mind, mom and her boyfriend didn’t disconnect from their surroundings until after eleven at night every time that Owen slept over. 

But tonight, the seven-year-old hadn’t gotten out of bed until almost midnight. The boy tiptoed towards the bathroom. He inched closer, glad Claire had her bedroom door closed, otherwise he would be in so much trouble. 

It took him two minutes to pee and wash his hands before he quietly tip toed his way back to his bedroom. Mason froze mid step once he was walking by Claire's bedroom door and frowned at the sound of his mother giggling. It wasn’t like the usual giggles he heard from her; these were more playful, almost squeals. Mason pursed his lips and got curious.

“What happened with keeping it quiet?” Owen chuckled. “It’s not my fault that your scruff tickles, baby...” She giggled again. The boy outside her room tilted his head, hearing this from the other side of the door.

“Wait...” Claire groaned before Mason couldn’t be able to hear anything else. The kid blinked and, biting on his lower lip, he rested his ear against the door. He wasn’t able to make out a word, and the sounds he was able to hear were too muffled for him to understand. 

He frowned and reached out for the doorknob. He turned it around but the door was locked. Claire never locked the door to her bedroom. Disappointed and a little puzzled, the kid walked back to his room and went back to bed. 

That following morning, Mason made it to the table after his shower, already dressed for summer school. He noticed Claire had a big smile on her face, one that she usually had whenever Owen had slept over. It was probably that tickle war or whatever they had going on late at night. 

“Hey babe.” Mom kissed the top of her son’s head once she saw him there. “You know, I’ve been thinking.” She brought the milk out of the fridge before reaching for his cereal in the cupboard. “You are turning eight in a couple of months, so how about you start preparing your own bowl of cereal from now on?” She smiled, placing the things on the table for him to do it. 

“Where’s Owen?” Mason wondered before he reached for the cereal and served some in his bowl, then managing to pour milk without spilling it. “I want to ask if he wants to come to my soccer game on Friday.” The kid smiled before bringing the spoon to his mouth. 

Claire nibbled on her lower lip and smiled back. “He is in the shower, but he is taking you to the bus stop today, maybe you can ask him then?” She suggested. 

Mason nodded while nibbling on his Cocoa Puff cereal. “Can we call dad tonight? I want him to come too.” He let his green eyes fall on Claire’s. 

“Um...yeah.” She frowned and brushed her fingers against her forehead. “Remember we have Lizzie’s game today, so it will have to be after dinner, okay?” 

“Yep.” Mason grinned, excited that he would be able to talk to his dad and tell him about how well he was doing in practice. The kid lifted the bowl up and brought it to his lips, just to catch Claire staring back at him and giving him a look. He chuckled, and with his head down, he put it back on the table and finished his milk with the spoon. 

 

* * *

 

“Is this the first time you come to one of her games?” Claire tried to muffle her laughter against Owen’s shoulder as they made their way to the side of the field. Mason was walking ahead of them, in charge of finding them a good spot. Both Lizzie and Mason played in a forward position, so the kid and his mom always found a spot near on the left corner, close to her. 

Ever since the kids had started soccer, they never missed each other’s games. Both moms always tried to be there, supporting the other kid. 

“Why?” Owen laughed, letting go of her hand and running his arm around her waist before they settled on their usual spot. 

“Because—“

“Hi, I’m Owen Grady. I’m Lizzie’s dad.” He introduced himself to the couple of parents around. 

“—of that.” Green eyes sparkled. “Don’t get me wrong, I find it adorable, baby.” She laughed, hugging his waist and biting on his shoulder gently. “But...” Claire sighed and looked away. “They have been playing for almost three years, what took you so long?” She frowned. 

“Not really giving a fu—“

“Hi Brenda, so nice of you to join us!” Owen patted the top of her head, like she was some sort of dog.

Claire snatched his arm away before the blonde could grab it and twirl it around. “Don’t do that!” She scolded him, her finger pointing out at him. “She’ll kill you and I won’t stop her.” She smiled playfully, before feeling him peck her lips. 

After four months of being together, Brenda was slowly coming to terms with the idea of Claire dating her ex-husband. She had to admit, seeing Lizzie happy because his dad was now fully involved in her life was a nice feeling and deep down, she knew Claire influenced him into doing so, knowing first hand how much it would mean not only for her but mostly for the girl. 

It was all in Claire’s eyes, how happy she was to see Lizzie thrilled that Owen had made it to the game and watch them hug and have a little moment before the referee would start the game. But at the same time, there was pain in them. 

“So how many goals are you scoring today, Lizard?” Owen asked his daughter once he put her down, the girl a little dizzy after the twirling he had given her. 

“Three!” She hopped with three fingers up. “I’ll score three, you’ll see daddy!” She said with determination.

“Alright!” The two high fived. “How about we then go to dinner to celebrate that you kicked some butt out here?” 

“Can we go to that burger place daddy!?” She kept hopping up and down. She really couldn’t stay still, and it was some energy her coach used for their advantage. “Last time we ate there I puked all night and mommy was so mad!” She smiled. 

“Yeah, I remember...” He brushed the back of his neck. Brenda had woken him up at midnight to yell at him over the phone. Their daughter had been sick after eating a double cheeseburger and milkshake all by herself that night before he dropped her off. 

“If you score those three goals we sure will!” It wasn’t like he didn’t believe his daughter, but three goals from the same girl at a kid’s soccer game? Sounded like a lot, and he wasn’t sure if she’d be able to make it.

“You are on!” Lizzie was thrilled. 

She was soon called back so the game could start, and Owen went back to Claire, Mason and Brenda. Later on, they were joined by Lizzie’s step-dad too, who, due to work, almost always missed the first half. 

Lizzie had the loudest cheer, now that four adults and her best friend were there, rooting for her. Owen had seen her practice a little the days he went pick Mason up from practice and sneaked out of work earlier just to have some extra time with the kids. However, that didn’t stop him from being a soccer mom and shouting some coach advice at her, also telling her when to pass the ball. 

“So I promised Lizzie that if she scored three goals we could go to that burger place from the other day…” Owen confessed to the woman he was holding from behind. “…Help?” There were still ten minutes left and so far, Lizzie had been able to score two goals. 

Claire caressed those strong arms holding her waist, and turned to look over her shoulder, shaking her head. “You will have to tell her no if she scores that goal.” She knew Brenda would never agree for her daughter to go back to that place — Claire knew she wouldn’t. 

“But—”

“No buts, babe.” She brushed her nose against his, “You need to learn not to be so permissive.” She murmured. “Do you want to go and make out?” Claire flirted, nibbling on her lower lip while her eyes looked at him with desire. 

“Yes.” Owen didn’t hesitate, almost in a trance while looking back into her eyes. “No...wait, what if we miss that goal?” He tilted his head. 

Claire giggled and nodded her head, “You are right...” She slowly turned around and played with her hands on his chest. “The...” She leaned over and whispered something in his ear, her hand wrapped around his waist, pulling him closer. “...can wait.” She added once she pulled back. 

Owen choked and cleared his throat. “I was just kidding, they are recording her so I can watch it later.” He took her hand and ran off with her, the redhead giggling behind him. 

 

* * *

 

“Can we call dad now, please?” Mason requested, the moment he and Claire made it home. 

“Yeah...” She always tried not to sound too dry about it, but she couldn’t help herself. She was predisposed to the idea that Josh was not going to show up, but still let the kid invite him. Was it selfish on her end? Try not to take the punch that she was the evil one who didn’t let him see his dad (like Brenda had done with Lizzie all these years)? She didn’t know, but she couldn’t wait for the day Mason was old enough to just give up on that sad case of a father and move on. 

Claire sighed and sat on the couch, feeling her kid hop on it next to her. She dialled the man, and once the phone started ringing, she passed it over to Mason. “Don’t be long okay, you still have to shower and brush your teeth.” Claire said softly, pulling his hair back and kissing his forehead. 

“Squirt!” A male voice exclaimed on the other end of the call once it had been picked up. There was a time when Claire would be the one calling him, and after exchanging a couple of words with him, he’d put their son on the line, but for the past year or so, it was always Mason the one calling him. 

“Hi dad!” Mason smiled happy to hear Josh was glad to hear from him. 

“So what’s up?” His father kept the same cheerful tone of voice, the kid could feel a smile on his face. “Are you staying out of trouble?” 

“Um...no, not really!” Mason was a little ashamed to confess that, but hearing his dad laughing about it made him chuckle and feel less embarrassed. 

“That’s fine. There’s plenty of time to behave once you are an adult, trust me.” The guy enabled him. “Once you are out of college—if you go, I don’t know what you’d want to do. So what’s up?” The man asked again.

“Well, soccer season started last month.” Mason shared with him, a little shy at the moment to tell him this.

“Oh yeah? Are you kicking butt out there?” He asked.

“Yes! The coach told mom that this is my best season yet!” 

“That’s awesome! I’m sure Claire is very proud of you.” Josh offered.

“Yeah...” The kid frowned. “We stop for ice-cream after every practice to celebrate that I did great.” 

“I’m sure she loves that.” He laughed. “Who is influencing her?” 

“What do you mean?” The kid was confused. 

“So how’s your LEGO project going?” Josh changed the subject. He knew the kid loved those and was always asking for new sets to build. 

“I still have the one Santa brought me last year in the box, since we promised we would build that together.” The kid looked down at the reminder, it was mid August and Josh had yet to make time for that.

“Oh yeah...Maybe after this tour, Squirt. I promise.” 

“Are you on tour right now?” Mason wondered. He knew that meant his dad would be out of town playing his guitar with his friends. He used to hang out with them when he was a toddler, before the divorce, but only knew this by photos. Apparently, Josh had taken him out with them once and Claire had found out it was one of those rock-bands parties so never again did she let Josh take the kid with him ‘to work’.

“Nope, I will next week though.” 

“Because I have a soccer game tomorrow.” Mason looked around, Claire had left the moment she had handed him the cellphone to give him some privacy. “And I want you to come and see me play!” He almost begged. 

“Yeah. It’s a done deal!” Josh immediately agreed. 

“Really?” Mason jumped out of the couch, trilled that his dad had agreed to be there. 

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world, kiddo! At what time is it?” 

“It’s at four. I can have mom text you the address.” He suggested since he didn’t know it. 

“Yeah...okay. It’s seven, where’s Claire?” He laughed. “Or did she make you shower before we could talk?”

“No. We just came back from dinner.” Mason explained. 

“Okay, then you go take that shower. We don’t want to make your mom mad.” Josh suggested. “We can talk tomorrow after your game, okay? Maybe we can go to that famous ice-cream place you told me about, huh?” 

“Okay dad!”

“See ya, alright.” 

Mason nodded, and after hanging up, he ran to Claire’s room and jumped onto the bed. “He said he’d be there!” The kid was so excited.

“Alright babe.” The redhead nodded and, taking her cellphone she gathered her kid in her arms. 

“I’m going to be the best tomorrow so I can make him be proud of me!” The kid looked up with a grin.

“You are the best regardless.” She smiled and kissed his forehead gently.

 

* * *

 

Even if she was heartbroken while watching her kid not putting any effort while playing, Claire put every ounce of energy she had to cheer for him. Owen being there by her side, trying to motivate the kid to play, helped a lot. Lizzie and Brenda were there too, but Mason only cared about the person who wasn’t there and had promised he would.

The coach was counting on Mason, who had proven a lot of potential this past month during practice. The kid was a total show off, specially once Owen had made it over to pick him up, but right now he just wanted to go home. 

Every time a key play was completed by his team members and engaged him to score that goal, he would just let the other team take the ball, which was making his teammates get mad at him. 

That’s how he ended up cornered by one of the midfield players, who was picking on him by the side of the field while they took their fifteen minute break. 

Owen was able to tell the unsettling posture Mason had while this other kid kept going at him. He shifted, making Claire bring her face up from his neck where she was resting and tilted her head, watching him walk across the field. “Where are you going?” She wondered faintly. 

“Hey! Kid!!” Owen started calling out as he inched closer. 

“The girls played better yesterday than you today, Mason.” A red haired kid mocked him, invading his personal space, trying to intimidate him. He was slightly bigger, so it was easy for him to do it.

“Hey! I’m talking to you, Carrot Head!” Owen called out, making the freckled redhead turn around. “You have a problem?“

Mason snorted at the nickname and started laughing. His eyes soon fell on the woman standing behind Owen, who had her arms folded against her chest. Mason went quiet and moved his green eyes back to the man. 

“Seriously, Owen? Carrot head?” Claire narrowed her eyes.

“Well...his is ugly, but yours is pretty!” Owen tried to get out of that one.

Claire sighed and rolled her eyes. She honestly wasn’t in the mood to deal with Owen’s obvious immaturity. She then moved her eyes towards the kid who was picking on her son, and one glare from the already upset woman was enough for the kid to back off and leave. “I’ll see you back on the field.” She frowned and let Owen have a moment with Mason. 

“I know it sucks that he didn’t show up.” Owen decided to be direct with the kid, let him know he knew what was going on; after all they didn’t have much time, and the kid was old enough to appreciate not being treated like a baby. “But you know, your mom was so excited to see you kick some butt like the times we have told her about.” 

Mason frowned and kicked a pebble, keeping his green eyes on the ground. Owen reached out and messed with his dark hair. “I wanted to impress him, maybe he would want to hang out with me more if he saw I was good at something.” The kid pouted. 

Owen looked up, Claire was watching them from a distance, on the other side of the field. At some point, he was glad he couldn’t make out the expression she had while her green eyes were focused on them, if she knew how much Josh had broken his son’s heart...then she would kill him. 

The man squatted down and brought his arm around the kid’s shoulder. “You are great at so many things. I’ve seen you play and you are better than any kid in here. You are great at math, and you can kick my butt when we play video games.” Owen smiled, “not to mention those amazing LEGO figures you build.”

The kid sniffed and slowly fixed his eyes on Owen. “Would you say your mom works really hard to make sure you have the best of things and you are happy?” The man added. 

Mason nibbled on his lip and nodded. “Then maybe she’s the one who you should try to impress, don’t you think? She wants to see you play. Do you want to see her happy?” 

“Yeeah.” The boy shrugged.

“Well, how many goals do you think she’s worth?” Owen smiled softly. 

“All of them.” The kid sobbed.

Owen nodded, and using the kids jersey, he cleaned the tears off his cheeks. “So how about you go out there and make her proud?” 

Mason nodded his head but still with a deep frown between his brows, and headed back to his team. 

Once he was close to the field the kid turned to look at his mom who was trying really hard to hold herself together for the kid. She smiled and waved at him. Mason looked back at Owen and then ran across the field to hug her waist. 

“I’m going to score the best of goals for you, mommy.” The kid promised, feeling his mother’s fingers brushing through the back of his head. 

Mason started the second half with energy, slowly letting himself get lost in the game and start gaining some confidence. It was now that he noticed how loud they were cheering for him. It took him about fifteen minutes to score his first goal of the match. 

“Did you see that mommy!?” He jumped, before his team mates gathered around him to celebrate.

“I did baby!” She nodded back, the first genuine smile of the afternoon curved on her lips.

She sighed and slowly hugged Owen’s waist. “I don’t know what it was that you told him...but thank you.” She pecked his lips a couple of times. 

“I told him he was too good for that pathetic excuse of a man and to flip him off.” Owen smiled, his hands hugging her back.

Claire shook her head and nuzzled close. “I’ve noticed he listens to you.” She murmured.

“That’s because I’m cool.” He offered a cheeky smile. 

“Do you think you can have him start eating his veggies?” Claire looked up nibbling on her lips. 

“That’s totally uncool.” Owen shook his head, request denied. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to my editor in Chief

Claire and Mason were standing in front of each other in the middle of the kitchen. Green eyes linked, Claire had a light frown on her forehead while Mason kept playing the voice message over and over. 

His little finger pressed play and he gasped lightly. “Squirt! You and me, camping. This weekend, I’ll pick you up at seven. We will build a campfire, we can go fishing, pee in the woods… and what not. It’s happening!!” Claire smiled at how Mason’s eyes kept lighting up.

“Okay, enough.” She chuckled and took her cellphone away from the kid, who looked up at her and grinned big. “It’s happening.” She nodded. Claire hated promising him anything related to Josh, but for the past five years she had learned to tell when her ex would actually come through, and so far that voice message alone was making her believe that Mason was going to spend his birthday camping with his dad — something he had wanted to do since he was five. 

Mason nodded. “I’m going to go start packing!” He was excited. The kid ran to his room and found the backpack Claire made him use whenever he was staying over at Lizzie’s or with Aunt Karen. 

“Okay.” Claire rolled her eyes. It was still a few days ahead but she was not going to rain on his parade. She walked over to her room and lay on her bed. She remembered about a coupon that had been sent her via email a couple of weeks before, and after checking if it was still good, she texted Owen. 

 _A Spa weekend...you and me away from everything and everyone. What do you say?_ She didn’t waste time to make plans now that she would be childless over the weekend.

 _Is there gonna be a jacuzzi?_ He texted her back right away. 

_Yes..._

_Is there going to be a sexy redhead in the jacuzzi?_ He replied while at his place, the game he was playing paused and the controller resting on his lap.

 _Yes...and naked._ Claire flirted.

_Do I get to do things to the naked sexy redhead in the jacuzzi?_

_You get to do anything you want to your naked redhead, not only in the jacuzzi but in the shower as well, and anywhere you want._

_I’m in!_ He smiled while typing, adding two heart-eyed emojis before he pressed send. 

_I wish you were here tonight...so I could give you a preview..._

_Your cellphone has a camera you know?_ Owen suggested.

 _Goodnight, baby..._ Claire shook her head. She wasn’t sure about that. Mason was always playing on her cellphone and she had been really careful to keep her sexual life out of his sight — and his hearing — for these past five months.

Owen replied with a sad face emoji and went back to his gaming. About fifteen minutes later, his cellphone started buzzing between his legs, which is where he had left it, so he could feel it in case his girlfriend texted. 

He paused his game and smiled wide once he opened the text message: _Don’t you dare touch yourself. I want you stuffed for the weekend._ She instructed before she sent him the photo he had asked for. 

Claire was blushing while sending that picture. She then started to delete it everywhere on her cellphone, including that last conversation, like she always did with those that got heated between her and Owen. 

“How does hotdog sound for dinner?” Claire called out on her way to Mason’s bedroom. 

 

* * *

 

That Wednesday, Claire and Owen were on the couch, hearing Mason go on and on about all the plans he had made with Josh for the weekend. It really seemed like they had everything figured out and the kid couldn’t wait for Saturday morning. 

Owen turned to look at Claire, who was happily listening to her kid repeating the same thing over and over again, but she didn’t mind. The man smiled softly and kissed his girlfriend’s temple. 

“Do you know how to fish?” Mason asked Owen as he held his fishing rod. The kid even had his hat on.

“I certainly do.” He smiled with a nod.

“Maybe next time you can come fishing with me and my dad!” He suggested. “He is going to teach me how to cast the rod and then I’m going to bring out the biggest of all fish!” He told himself he would, making Josh proud.

“Okay babe, how about you go change into your pajamas and brush your teeth?” Claire intersected, leaving Mason’s question in the limbo. Both adults knew that was not happening, but didn’t want to lie to Mason, nor get his hopes up. 

Once the kid ran off to change, Claire hugged Owen’s waist and hid her face in the crook of his neck. She had had a long day at work ahead and was dealing with a headache, not to mention she was completely drained. 

“Do you want to go lie down?” Owen kissed the back of Claire’s head. “I’ll clean the kitchen and make sure Mason is in bed on time.” 

The redhead slowly looked up and hugged his neck. “Can I have a ride?” She asked. Owen smiled and, carrying her in his arms, he headed to her bedroom. He lay her down on the bed and they exchanged a couple of pecks. 

Owen then headed to the kitchen and started to clean the dining room table and threw the pizza box away. He washed the few dishes they had used for dinner, and once he was done, he headed over to Mason’s room. 

The kid had just come back from brushing his teeth and was now getting ready for bed. “Why don’t you go say goodnight to your mom?” Owen suggested, and watched the kid go find his mom.

He found Claire resting on her back, her arm over her eyes, lying in bed in the dark.  “Hey baby?” She murmured.

“Goodnight mommy.” He walked to her side of the bed and let her hug him before kissing her cheek. “I love you.” He offered.

“I love you too, sweetie.” She smiled, brushing his hair to the side. “Now go to bed.” She sighed, before leaning over and placing a kiss on his forehead. 

Once Mason got to his room, he froze by the doorframe. Owen was sitting on the edge of his bed with a huge present. “Come here.” The man smiled and motioned for him to get closer; the kid smiled and slowly walked in. 

Mason sat next to him and nibbled on his nails. Any other kid would keep his eyes on that big box, but he was looking at Owen. “I know your birthday is on Saturday but since you are going camping, I thought I should give you my present today.” The man shrugged. 

The kid grinned impossibly wide. “Thank you!” He kept those green eyes on Owen, who handed him the box. The feeling of his gesture too overwhelming for Mason to understand it at his eight years of age. All he could understand was that never had a grown man he admired given him a birthday present, and Owen was the first one to do so. It was something that made him very happy and was unconsciously leaving a mark on him. 

Mason looked down and slowly started to rip the wrapping paper off the box. His green eyes grew big when he realized it was a Super Soaker Switch Shot Blaster. “This is so cool!” He ripped the rest of the wrapping paper off and was quick to unpack it too. The kid started to maneuver the blaster even if, at the moment, it was only shooting air. 

“I have mine at home, but we can try them once you are back from camping!” Owen suggested to have a little water war. He had gotten the set just so he could play with Mason.

The kid nodded and hugged his waist tightly, “thank you Owen!” He looked up and smiled. “We can play with them the moment I’m back!” He agreed. The kid happily got into bed and hugged the blaster close: he wanted to sleep with it that night. 

Owen laughed and let him get under the covers with it. He tucked the kid in and made sure his plush T-Rex was comfortable on his other side. “Goodnight Rexy.” Owen high-fived the toy. “Goodnight champ.” He offered a high five for the kid too, but Mason hugged him from his neck, instead.

“You are the best...” Mason murmured, before letting go and hugging the new toy and closed his eyes as Owen turned his nightstand off.

 

* * *

 

“I HATE MY BIRTHDAY!” Mason cried before shutting his bedroom door on Claire’s face. 

“Baby...come on.” The redhead sobbed while knocking at the door. “Let me in...please.” She begged him while wiggling the door knob; her son had locked himself in there. 

“NO! LEAVE ME ALONE!” He cried while kicking the backpack he had so excitedly stuffed for his camping trip.

“We can do whatever you want. We can eat ice-cream and watch a movie or go to the arcade at the mall.” Claire suggested, barely able to talk as her voice cracked. 

It was eight in the morning on Saturday and once again, Josh had broken his kid’s heart by cancelling their trip. A photoshoot with his band had come up, and of course that was more important that his eight-year-old’s birthday. 

“I don’t want anything.” He sobbed against his pillow.

“I’ll be right here when you are ready to come out, okay?” Claire reminded him.

“I’m never coming out...”

It was the same thing every year. She hated herself for believing it would be different this time around. But Josh had the whole thing planned out, and whenever he did that, he always came through. 

Claire sat down on the edge of her bed and, sobbing, she dialled Owen. She gulped and held the iPhone against her ear.

“Gorgeous, I’m on my way. Last chance...for you to change your mind and let me take you there on my bike.” He teased; he was finishing packing for his weekend away with Claire. 

“I—I need to cancel.” She brushed her fingers against her forehead, trying not to let him hear her crying, but her voice was cracking up and it was obvious. 

Owen immediately figured out what had happened. Babe...I’m coming over.” He frowned. 

“He hates his birthday and I can’t do anything about it.” She didn’t care anymore. She was devastated and it was audible in her voice how upset she was. “All I want is for my kid to have one birthday when he doesn’t end up....so heartbroken.” She sobbed. 

Owen wanted to get on his bike, go find this son of a bitch and just break his nose for hurting a sweet kid like Mason. 

“He locked himself in his bedroom and he usually lets me in and I hold him until he calms down and falls asleep.” She sniffed. “But not this time...this time he completely shut me out.” 

“We got this, love.” Owen assured her, sadness evident in his voice. “Give me half an hour and we will give him the birthday he deserves.” He promised. 

 

* * *

 

It was loud honking coming from one side of the building what made Claire walk to her bedroom window.

Owen and Lizzie were outside, waving at her. They had come in a big van that Claire had no idea where it came from but it made her smile. 

Claire ran to Mason’s bedroom and knocked on the door. “Hun...you might want to come see this.” She sobbed, her eyes hurting after the heavy crying she’d had going for the past hour or so. 

There was no acknowledgement from Mason’s end. “Babe? Please...you are going to love this! I promise.” She rested her head against his door and played with the door knob. 

She then turned around after hearing someone knocking at the front door and went to answer. Lizzie rushed in, while Owen immediately wrapped his arms around Claire and kissed her forehead. 

“Mason!!!!” The girl called out from outside her best friend’s room. She frowned when the kid didn’t answer. 

Owen pushed Claire’s messy hair back and kissed her nose a couple of times. Once she smiled at him, he headed to the kid’s bedroom door. 

“Hey buddy?” Owen called out, knocking gently. “Are you ready? I was told this camping trip was at seven and it’s nine.” The man smirked. “C’mon man, you know how I’m always telling your mom that girls are the last to be ready...don’t make me look bad.”

Claire frowned, feeling her boyfriend kissing her forehead. “C’mon...we are going to be late!” He added. 

“Where did you get that van?” She asked curious. 

“A friend of mine.” He shrugged, “I needed a decent bed to persuade you into coming.” He teased. 

“Oh...no...I don’t do camping.” She shook her head. 

“You won’t, you will sleep in a van with full equipment.” He smiled. 

“I’m not coming.” She insisted. 

“Do you have the keys to this?” Owen wondered about the doorknob, as there was still no answer from Mason.

“I don’t do that.” She frowned, referring to forcing him to open up. 

“Mason? Can I come in?” Owen asked softly. 

The eight-year-old unlocked the door and waited for Owen to come inside before he locked the door again. 

Claire turned around to find Lizzie standing there. “Do you want some ice-cream?” 

“You don’t even have to ask.” The girl grinned and followed her to the kitchen. Claire didn’t know how long the boys would be talking, and she’d go crazy standing by the door. 

Claire took the ice-cream out of the freezer, and after fetching for a bowl and a spoon, she served the kid some. 

“Would you braid my hair like yours that one day?” Lizzie requested upon taking the bowl of ice-cream. “Yum...thanks!”

“Of course!” Owen had been the one who braided her hair while they watched a kid’s movie, but Claire could still do this. Both girls sat on the couch and Claire started brushing that long blonde hair with her fingers, dividing it in strands so she could start braiding it. 

The girl happily started to nibble on her ice-cream, feeling Claire’s gentle fingers running through her hair. 

“How did you guys convince your mom to let you spend the weekend camping with Owen?” She asked curious. She knew Brenda wasn’t the kind to just give in like that, especially with such short notice. 

“He promised you’d be there.” She smiled. “And then he said it was to cheer Mason up on his birthday.” The blonde girl explained.

“Oh.” Claire nodded and looked down, her fingers never stopping while they worked on those braids. 

“Have you ever gone camping before?” Lizzie wondered, enjoying the cookie dough ice-cream. 

“No.” Claire chuckled and shook her head. “Camping isn’t really my thing.” She confessed. 

“Me neither.” The blonde girl agreed. “Do you want to team up when we are there? Us girls gotta stick together.” Lizzie repeated something she had picked around. 

Claire laughed and nodded. “They better not mess with us.” She assured her before she finished the first braid. 

“You are so pretty. No wonder daddy is in love with you.” Lizzie offered. “I’m really happy he fell in love with you.”

Claire smiled softly and nibbled on her lower lip. “I’m happy you approve.” She blushed. “I also love him very much, you know.” 

Lizzie nodded, “I can’t wait for you to be my step mom!” The blonde girl turned around and smiled.

“Can I tell you a secret?” Claire blushed, slowly letting go of her braid. 

Lizzie’s hazel eyes grew big and she nodded, she loved secrets and she was good at keeping them, too.

“I can’t wait to be your step mom either.” Claire giggled.

“One day you will be the best step mother ever. Everybody will have evil step mothers but I’ll have the best!” She assured her.

The girls’ little conversation was interrupted when the boys made it to the living room. “Mommy, are you coming with us...? It won’t be the same without you.” Mason said shyly with a light smile on his face. 

Owen smiled at the kid and tousled his hair with his fingers, his eyes lovingly fixed on Claire.

The redhead smiled big, her eyes fixed on Owen’s. “I guess we are going camping.” She nodded, nibbling on her lower lip. 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shoutout to my editor in chief <3

After a three-hour drive, the couple and their kids had finally arrived to Owen’s favorite camping site. He didn’t know which place Josh had originally set for his camping trip with Mason (or if he truly had one set up), but this one also had a lake where they could fish.  Once at the location, he called Lizzie to the side and gave her his cellphone; he wanted her to take photos of Claire while they walked along the trees and up around the small hill over to their destination. He knew that if he did this he would be a dead man, but if it looked like the 7-year-old was just having fun, then Claire wouldn’t say anything about it; especially since the blonde girl was starting to show interest in photography and was curious about the different angles and lights to work with.

It wasn’t like he was making fun of Claire, but he could predict it would be the cutest thing to witness and that he wouldn’t be able to keep his hands away from her and wanted to have all those moments in his camera roll. She had changed into a pair of ripped jeans and a blue and red flannel shirt that matched Owen’s before they left home. She had also swapped her heels for a pair of boots. She was wearing a beanie that had her boyfriend thinking her nose had never looked cuter and he couldn’t help finding moments through their hike to just pull her close from her belt loops and kiss that freckled nose or give it a light nip.  

Lizzie and Mason watched them walk by a fern of yellow flowers where Owen corned her and kissed her lovingly. She giggled watching him pin a few of the small flowers through her hair. The girl standing right beside them was able to snap the perfect photo of Claire hugging her dad from his waist while he lightly bent her backwards and nipped on her nose, the brightest of smiles in the redhead’s lips while their foreheads were pressed. 

“I love you…” Claire giggled once he brought her back so she could stand straight. 

Both kids shook their heads with a smile on their face. Mason’s was lit up. He still couldn’t believe he got to go camping with his best friend, mom, and Owen. He had the entire ride there to think about how this was the perfect camping trip and it would be better than anything he might have been doing with Josh if he had shown up.

He had been quiet throughout those three hours; they all had been singing along the radio or playing different road trip games, but he had only engaged sporadically. Most of the time he’d been lost in his thoughts. He had just turned eight but he did a lot of growing up (even if forced on him) that day. Claire had kept her attention on her son, watching him frown to himself most of the time, making her wonder what was running through his mind: there were times when she would catch him smiling too. Only Mason knew what was going on inside of him, in his heart and in his mind.

Lizzie had requested for all four to pose for some photos on different spots she had liked on their way to the camping spot. It took them about an hour to make it to the place Owen had in mind now that Claire had agreed to do the full experience, and sleep in a sleeping bag under a tent just like the rest of them. The blonde girl had dozens of photos from the walk up and down the hill alone.

Once at the perfect camping spot by a campfire pit and close to the lake, Owen and Mason teamed up to put together the big tent where the couple would sleep and Claire and Lizzie were setting up the small one for the kids. The redhead had grabbed the guide to read on how to do it and had the girl do it step by step as it said in there: Lizzie didn’t complain, since Brenda had a similar way of doing things, so she was already used to it. Mason, on the other hand, had been told to drop the instructions manual: it was for nerds. He found it refreshing to just build it intuitively rather than following instructions – he hated those.

Even if the boys were building the larger one, they finished before the girls. They walked into the big tent and it seemed like they never came out from there. Fifteen minutes went by, and the girls finally finished setting up the small one. “…Guys?” Claire called out, noticing they weren’t around. She and Lizzie shrugged, and together they inched towards the big tent and peeked inside: they weren’t there either.

Both girls decided to unpack a few things from the big camping backpacks they’d carried all the way there and wait for the boys to come back from wherever they were, while moving things along. Both boys jumped out of nowhere and started laughing as the girls screamed at the top of their lungs, feeling how they were getting their backs soaked with those super soaker guns Owen had gotten for the kid’s birthday. 

The two boys high fived, watching them completely drenched, and started to circle them, wanting to hit them from the front too. “Nooooo!!” Their victims begged, covering themselves with their arms before they started running back to the trees to hide. Claire ran to her left and Lizzie went right. The boys split, Owen going after Claire and Mason for Lizzie. 

Claire was hiding behind a tree, shaking and cold, while her hair was dripping water to the ground. It was late September, after all. She gulped and started to pant, hearing Owen’s steps close to her. She closed her eyes and covered her face with her hands once she saw his frame tall in front of her. The man had the most loving pair of hazel eyes on her. He watched how she was shivering lightly because of the cold weather and the soaked clothes she was wearing.

Owen smiled at her and dropped the super soaker to the ground before inching close and pinning her against the tree, kissing her roughly. She looked so sexy dripping wet. His lips found her neck and gently peppered kisses around it, his hands curious while his rough finger pads traveled up her smooth skin. “Mmm… you are cold.” He groaned, his hands cupping her breasts, her bra also wet. “Let me help you warm up…” Owen gently squeezed her soft breasts before he removed her soaked flannel shirt. He brushed his lips down her freezing abdomen and lifted her up for her to wrap her legs around him.

Mason was quiet through the woods: Lizzie was better at hiding than Claire. She would crawl through ferns and fool him around but it didn’t take long for him to corner her against a tree and mercilessly empty his super blaster on her.

Both kids had gone back to the camping site; they had promised to behave after hearing Owen tell them a story about how two kids had been doing monkey business in the middle of a camping trip and had been taken to minors’ prison for breaking like five laws. Both parents agreed neither of them would get them out of there until they were fifteen if that happened to them.

“Why are you wearing Owen’s shirt?” Mason asked, puzzled, now that both adults had joined them back by their camping after about ten minutes. Owen was shirtless with Claire’s top in his hands. 

Claire blushed while drowning in his shirt and just shrugged, “I got cold so I borrowed it while we came back.” She explained, which was not a lie; she just left out how they had sex against a tree about a mile away from there. 

Lizzie came out from the kids tent after she had changed her outfit. Owen went looking for a new shirt and put it on, letting Claire wear his other one, the redhead only changing her jeans. Once she came back out from the big tent, the girls went looking for a sunny spot so their clothes could dry. All their garments were under the sun except Claire’s panties, which Owen had demanded to keep as a trophy for having claimed her in the wild and in such an animalistic way. 

Later that afternoon, Owen and Mason were getting ready to go fishing which was the one thing the kid was most looking forward to on this trip. Owen was sitting with him on the logs by the fire pit; he was explaining to him the different parts of the fishing pole: the fishing rod, lure, and reel and what was each of their functions. Owen mentioned how important it was to make sure all three parts were cleaned. He taught him how to clean them by showing him on his and then watched him do it on the kid’s. After that, they put it together, also by watching him do it first.

The part that took the longest was when Owen taught him how to thread the fishing pole, but after a few tries Mason finally managed to successfully get his right. “We will be at the lake, see you guys soon!” Owen called out for the girls who were looking for Lizzie’s loom band bracelet kit in her backpack. Claire kissed her boyfriend a couple of times before letting them go.

“I love you so much, you know that right?” She looked up, her arms wrapped tightly around his waist.

Owen smiled big and nodded, “I love you too, gorgeous.” He pecked her lips a couple of times.

“Thank you.” She offered softly about him teaching her son how to fish, which was something he had wanted to do since ever.

“Hey, I love that kid so…” He smiled against her own loving grin. “Plus… it’s great practice for when you and I eventually have a little boy of our own.”

Claire pulled back a little and frowned lightly. “I…um…” She shook her head; she loved her son to death but she hoped it would be understandable why she didn’t want to have more kids. “I am afraid the factory is shut down.” She offered an apologetic frown.

Owen could see the hurt in her eyes, and with a nod he respected her decision, evidently she had taken it a long time ago. “We will be right back.” He said softly and kissed her forehead lovingly before pecking her lips and heading to the lake with Mason.

Lizzie was already waiting on a log for Claire, who had promised to teach her how to make loom band bracelets. She had the tool that would braid it for you and she wanted to learn do them by hand. Claire soon met her and sat next to her. She set the kit on her lap and tucked her red hair behind her ears before looking at the different colors of rubber bands the girl had.

“Okay, pick a color you’d like to start with.” She smiled and watched Lizzie pick a pink one. Claire gave her an S-clip, as well as a hook tool, grabbing some for herself too.

“Okay so now you squeeze your little band and stick it inside one end of the clip, so that it forms two small loops on the sides.” Claire showed her how to do it with her purple rubber band and then nodded once Lizzie did it with hers.

“Like this?” Lizzie showed with a grin. 

Claire smiled and nodded. “Now you take another rubber, squeeze it as well and slide it through the little loops of your first one, and if you can’t, just use the little hook to help you pull it all the way through.” She once again showed her how, and waited for Lizzie to do it. Claire repeated the steps until they had about seven loops done, and by then the blonde girl was able to keep up on her own.

“Once you think it’s long enough, just hook the ends of your last rubber into the other end of the S-clip” Claire instructed. They finished their tryout bracelet in about ten minutes. The grown woman slid it around the kid’s wrist and then did the same with her own. “Can we do another one?” Lizzie asked, excited. She really liked doing this.

Claire nodded. “Which colors would you like to use this time?” 

“I don’t know, which ones are your favorite?” Lizzie smiled.

“Um… how about we make a blue and green one? Or we could just use every color and make a rainbow one!” She suggested. The kid nodded eagerly and grabbed another S-clip.

“So, do you know what you are doing for your birthday?” Claire tried to pick a subject they could talk about, Owen had asked her to try and figure out what the kid wanted to do for her 8th birthday, which was just around the corner. He had spent weeks begging Brenda to let him throw her this party and he wanted to make sure it would be perfect now that his ex had agreed. 

“I want a candy bar and a beauty parlor!” She had already thought about this and it was like she was waiting for one adult to just ask.

“Oh my god, please!” Claire smiled while working on her bracelet. “It is about time we get our beauty glow going.” She playfully added. 

“So please tell my mom to leave the clown out of this one, I am too old for that.” She wrinkled her nose. “Besides, my friends are scared of clowns.” She frowned, that was a fear she couldn’t understand. “And they aren’t even funny.”

Claire chuckled and nodded. “You know this year it is your dad who is planning your birthday, though.” She reminded her.

“Phewww.” She was relieved. “He would never do anything to embarrass me in front of my friends. He is cool.”

Claire shook her head, looking down. “Have you told him that?”

“He knows he is the best daddy in the world.” Lizzie had made sure to tell him so. 

“I think so too.” Claire agreed. “Do you already know what you are wearing for your birthday?” Lizzie was the kind of girl who had always liked to dress up according to the theme she had picked for her party. For her fifth birthday party she had dressed up as a ballerina and for her sixth birthday she had been her own idea of a princess.

Lizzie shook her head. “I haven’t decided yet. Do you think you can help me out with that?” She asked softly. “You always look so pretty and my dad can’t stop staring.”

Claire giggled and blushed at her observation. “I would love to.” She agreed to help her pick an outfit for her upcoming birthday.

Once Lizzie was done with the bracelet, she inched closer to Claire and slid it over her wrist: she had made it for her. The blonde girl nibbled on her lower lip and looked up with a smile.

Claire admired it for a moment and smiled back. She knew that’s what Lizzie had in mind the moment she asked her to pick the colors, so she had made hers to fit the girl and slid it on her smaller wrist.

That night the couple and their kids set up a campfire where they could toast marshmallows and cuddle by the fire to shield themselves from the cold wind blowing through the trees. Mason and Owen kept telling them about their fishing adventure. Claire was smiling wide while curled up against Owen, feeling his arms around her. She had never seen her son happier than that, sharing the many things he had done with Owen. Each and every single of those memories her boyfriend was imprinting on the kid made her fall deeper in love with him.

Owen finished toasting a marshmallow, and after making sure it wasn’t too hot, he fed it to the gorgeous redhead in his arms. She moaned softly nibbling from it before she fed him hers. The kids each eating their own, completely used to the image of their parents feeding each other by then.

“Daddy, why don’t you tell us a scary story??” Lizzie suggested. “Yeahhh!!” Mason seconded that suggestion. Owen turned his gaze down to look at the mother of the other child as she shook her head. “Pleaseeeeee!” Both kids begged. “We are old enough not to get scared by them.” Lizzie pouted, tired of being treated like a toddler when she was almost eight.

Owen looked down again, caressing the freckled arm hugging his under the blanket he was sharing with Claire. “Babe, no.” She murmured. “They won’t be able to sleep, and who is going to deal with them then?”

Owen moved his eyes back to the kids, who were pouting and looking over with puppy eyes. “I will.” He promised. “I will deal with them if they get scared.” Those stupid scary camp stories weren’t even that terrifying. They were all very generic and it was obvious a random kid had come up with them. How they had become popular, he didn’t know.

Claire sighed and rolled her eyes. “Fine…” She gave in, before filling Owen’s mouth with another marshmallow and pressing a kiss to his cheek.

"Don't ever stand on a grave after dark," Owen murmured, watching both kids lean in closer. "The corpse inside will grab you. It'll pull you under…"

Owen kept the kids’ attention and senses on the story as he narrated it; he couldn’t remember all of it, since it had been decades since the last time he had gone camping with his buddies like that. He had to make up parts of it as he went, making Claire roll her eyes at the absurdities he was filling the gaps with. However, those parts seemed to be the ones that kept the kids at the edge of their seats.

Just like the redhead had predicted, the kids didn’t want to go to their tent on their own. It was not her problem, and she just said goodnight to both kids before heading to her and Owen’s one to get ready for bed. He had been the one to compromise and promise it would be on him to make sure they went to bed. It took him an hour to get both kids to fall asleep before he managed to sneak out of their tent and go find his girlfriend in their own. 

He opened the tent and found her lying on the mattress they had made with their sleeping bags and other stuff. She had their blanket over her, which he slowly started to pull over her legs, offering a playful smile. “Boooo...” He gave her a disappointing pout when he noticed she was wearing a pair of flannel pajama pants.

“It’s cold!” She complained before she giggled, feeling him sliding over on top of her and finding her lips for a kiss. “Don’t…” 

“Let’s do it…” He grinned.

“The kids are just there.” She reminded him. 

“Asleep.” He rolled his eyes playfully. 

“Owen…” 

He chuckled and started to pull those pajama pants off her legs, Claire never stopping him, smiling and biting on her lip. He took hold of one of her legs and started to kiss it softly on his way up to her thigh.

“Wait! Zip it up…” She pointed out at the tent’s little entrance so the kids wouldn’t end up sneaking on them and find Owen with his face between her legs. That would be something they wouldn’t be able to explain until they reached that age where they had figured it out on their own.

Owen did as told and zipped the entrance from inside, before turning his attention back to the redhead waiting for him with her legs open, just like he wanted her. He chuckled mischievously and slowly slid down between them, hugging her legs and bringing them over his shoulders before he took his time to taste what he had been craving.

“Lizzie?” Mason shivered. He had woken up from a nightmare where he felt how that girl from the graveyard in Owen’s story had pulled him down into the ground. “Lizzie!!” He shook his best friend awake, making her jolt and gasp in terror.

The girl was panting and resting her hand on her chest, feeling her heart pounding fast. Both kids turned their flashlights on and, trembling, started to look around the small tent for anything unusual. They squeezed together in one of their sleeping bags and covered each other’s backs, both flashlights pointing at the entrance, hoping no ghost girl would come in and attack them. 

“What was that?!” Lizzie heard a high pitch scream coming from outside. Mason was so busy trying to hide under his sleeping bag and sleep, that he had missed the noise.

“What was that?” He asked, poking his head out of his pillow which he had been holding over his head. Loud groans were coming from outside. “That? Is that what you heard?” He wondered, his fingers shaking while holding the flashlight steady.

“God…Please…!” Both kids hear the familiar voice begging. 

“That’s my mom!” Mason stood up under the tent and frowned, Claire’s moans audible all the way to the kids’ tent, followed by Owen’s grunts.

“Like that…baby, please!” The woman kept begging in desperation. “Don’t stop…right there!”

“I think the ghost girl is attacking my mom!” Mason put his sneakers on; he was brave enough to want go out there and make sure Claire was okay. 

“I think daddy is attacking the ghost girl.” Lizzie figured out, as she thought Claire was instructing him where to hit. The blonde girl put her shoes on too, and holding hands with her best friend, they both gulped and stepped out of their tent.

It was cold and dark outside but they had just heard Claire begging for Owen to go harder and faster, which meant he needed help with the ghost girl. Both kids freaked out, terrified of what could be going on inside their tent, and only grew more alarmed when both adults cried out. It wasn’t until Claire started giggling that they got confused.

“Let’s go get the flashlights…” They finally figured out. They crawled back into their tent and came back with their flashlights on.

Owen adjusted and rested by his girlfriend’s side. She shifted and held him close, both of them sweating, trying to get comfortable under those sleeping bags. They exchanged a couple of pecks before they noticed the shadows created by the flashlights on the outside. 

The woman offered a look. “I thought you said they were asleep?” She pursed her lips. Owen scratched the back of his head, noticing both kids were out there.

Both parents got quickly dressed and casually came out of the tent. “What are you guys doing up?” Claire demanded to know, her arms crossed over her chest.

“We heard the ghost girl attacking you!” Mason explained. 

“We thought daddy needed help hitting her since you kept asking for him to go harder and faster.” 

Claire went pale and covered her mouth with her hand, Owen letting out a nervous laugh. He scratched the back of his head and assured them there was no ghost girl. “That…that was not a ghost… that was us… trying to see who could handle being squeezed the tightest into a hug!” Owen explained, proud of his quick excuse.

Claire turned to look at him, not believing he couldn’t come up with something better. “So no ghost girl? That was just you two playing… to see who gives the strongest hugs?” The kids tilted their heads.

“Yeah…like this...” He abruptly hugged Claire from her side and wrapped his arms tight around her, grunting loud, trying to sound the same way he did when having sex with her.

The redhead blinked and after a few second she pulled way. “Okay…I think they get it.” She gulped, hoping it was that way.

“Is that why mommy was out of breath? Not because she was in danger?” Mason was still worried, after all this was his mother they were talking about. “But because you were hugging her so tight she couldn’t breathe?”

“Daddy sometimes hugs me like that, it’s fun even if it hurts when it is too much. He can leave me a bit sore but I don’t mind.” Claire choked, not believing how legitimately accurate that sounded.

“Yes… and your mommy is fine, don’t worry okay? There is no ghost girl, I made that up. Now go back to bed!” Owen instructed and both kids went back to their tent as told. 

The following morning all the campers seemed to have gathered at the lake for a swim; fall had just begun, but the sun was still nicely warming up the camp site. It would have been a sin not to take advantage of it and enjoy the water. 

Mason and Lizzie weren’t the only kids around their age there, and they all had gathered to play and enjoy their morning before everybody started to go back to the city and their ordinary routine. It was noon, and the kids were still trying to understand the logic behind the hugging challenge Owen had explained them. They had quietly tried it between the two of them and didn’t find any fun in doing that. Maybe it was a grownups thing, so they decided to ask the other kids if their parents played the same kind of games.

“Do your parents also play the hugging challenge?” Lizzie asked the two kids that were on the deck with them waiting for their turn to take a splash into the lake.

The twin sisters looked at each other and shook their heads. “No, we don’t think so.”

“Because our mom and dad were hugging each other so tightly last night that he was making her gasp for air.” They explained. “She is pretty strong too, since daddy was grunting at how tight she was around him.” Lizzie nodded.

“Mommy, do you and daddy play the hugging challenge?” The twins called out for their parents. What better way to answer that question than to ask the source directly?

Every adult around them was now puzzled, trying to figure out what that meant, and the few grownups by the deck walked closer, wanting to hear what the cute freckled boy and the blonde girl had to say. “Our mom and dad were playing the hugging challenge last night. They were very close, since she kept asking him to hug her harder and faster.” The pair of best friends explained, with no idea of the position they had put their parents into.

Every adult gasped and widened their eyes, asking their kids to go play somewhere else. There were also some teens from a camping school trip laughing their asses off, already old enough to understand what Mason and Lizzie were still too innocent to get.

Owen and Claire met with their kids by the deck so they could go back to their tents to change and get ready to go back. Claire nudged Owen, lightly feeling how all those adults were staring at them, judging them. “If you are so desperately hormonal… at least do it far from the tents.” The twins’ mom hissed at them as she shook her head, and taking her kids, she walked away. 

An elder man who had tagged along with their grandchildren shook his head. “Disgusting…going at it like a couple of wild animals right next to your kids.” He mumbled before he started walking away with his wife. “You’re just jealous because not even Viagra works for you anymore.” The old lady called him out before she turned around and gave Claire a thumbs up, approving of the hunk she was tapping.

Somehow Claire and Owen found themselves sitting at the campsite manager’s office. The two of them quietly stared at their hands, like two kids at the principal’s office after getting into trouble. The man’s secretary was taking care of Lizzie and Mason: “Is it true that you can get us in jail if we misbehave during camping?” They casually asked her.

“You should know why you’re here.” The manager sat down once he fixed himself a cup of coffee. “We received a complaint from one of our highest fund donors.” He explained, after all the forest and the campsite were kept in good shape by schools, churches, and organizations with camping clubs.

“Their camp site went out of control, the teens unable to stop engaging in explicit conversations with very graphic descriptions of many sorts.” He explained. “How are you two involved in this, you may wonder? Well, it was your little hugging challenge, like the kids call it nowadays, what trigged this behavior. Apparently, a couple of teenagers were by the lake and learned that the two of you were having sex just few feet away from your kids.” 

Claire wanted the earth to swallow her whole, pale and ashamed. She couldn’t even face this guy, keeping her gaze down to her hands. Owen, on the other hand, couldn’t keep himself from chuckling, slightly proud that all these people were making a big deal out of the fact that he and his girlfriend had a healthy and active sexual life.

“Now it is not my business how you raise those poor kids and what kind of content you are okay to expose them to, but this is a family friendly camp site and we have zero tolerance for this kind of behavior.” The man continued his lecture about how inappropriate it was for them to have had sex on the camp site premises.

It was about half an hour later when both parents came back out of that office, both their kids rushing to meet them and hug them.

“This was fun!” Mason exclaimed as they walked back to the van, both parents awfully quiet. Claire, though, couldn’t help smiling: aside from all the humiliation, her kid had finally had the birthday of his dreams. 

“When are we doing it again!?” Lizzie agreed. 

“I’m sorry kids; we won’t be able to come back any time soon.” Owen let them know, both kids groaning in disappointment. The manager had banned them for inappropriate behavior.

“I told you not to tell them that stupid scary story.” Claire hissed.

“Yeah, but _you_ were the loud one.”


	6. Halloween Special: Double, Double, Toil and Trouble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Claire and Owen celebrate Halloween with their kids; trouble makers Mason and Lizzie who already have their own tradition going on: from wearing themed pajamas and watching Halloween movies, to making sure those party poopers who don’t give candy get pranked like they deserve.

 

You can read the Halloween special [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16383257/chapters/38345984)


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shoutout to my editor in Chief! <3

That Friday afternoon, Owen was working on setting up Lizzie’s inflatable mattress in Mason’s room. Brenda, being the one with more space, always kept it at her house and both kids used it according to their sleepover needs. The girl was spending the weekend with her dad, so all four had agreed to spend it together at Claire’s apartment. 

The two kids and Owen had just made it home. It was raining outside: both kids took their rain boots and coats off and placed them on the rug by the door. 

With his girlfriend still at work, Owen was dealing with making sure Lizzie and Mason didn’t kill Randall, her purple iguana. Brenda almost never let the kid let the reptile loose in the house, but they weren’t at her house, so that meant it was okay to let Randall explore and get familiar with the apartment. 

“Please make sure Randall doesn’t poop all over Claire’s living room!” Owen called out from Mason’s bedroom, waiting for the mattress to be completely inflated. “I don’t want her to leave me because her couch has nasty iguana crap all over it.” He mumbled. 

Owen was texting Claire in between tasks. He was sitting on Mason’s bed smiling like a fool. There was nothing he loved more than when Claire sent him flirty texts while she was at work. They turned him on and he couldn’t help pushing for a steamy conversation to blossom. He sometimes succeeded, and by the looks of it, it seemed that today it would escalate to his favorite kind of texts. 

Owen was adjusting his bulge when Mason ran off into his room, his hazel eyes made contact with green ones for a second and then the kid went looking for his RC car. 

Lizzie was holding Randall in the kitchen and Mason drove his car toy to stand by the blonde girl. She carefully placed her pet on the toy and Mason started to drive it around the kitchen as fast as it could go. 

Both kids laughed loudly while Owen was so engaged in his sexting with Claire that he couldn’t bother going out there and make sure they were behaving. 

Randall fell off the car after a minute or so, and started to slide against the tiled kitchen floor, trying to run as fast as he could. He finally made it to the living room and climbed up the back of the couch against the wall. His heart pounded fast while his claws kept him clung to the fabric. 

Mason and Lizzie started to look for him under the couches and the cushions but didn’t have any luck, both kids brushing it off, thinking he would come out when he felt like it. 

It didn’t take them long to find something else to get distracted with, like an empty paper towel roll Claire had disposed of that morning. Both kids started to talk through it, laughing at how their voices sounded in it. 

“Life is so boring when it’s raining.” Lizzie complained while playing with the roll in her hands. 

“Maybe there’s something here we can play with?” Mason shrugged, looking around to see what other stuff they could use and figure out a way to get distracted. 

Lizzie shrugged back and started looking around, helping her best friend to come up with something. Mason smiled when he found some eggs his mom had bought for them to bake cookies with during the weekend. 

“Hey Lizzie? Think fast!” Mason gently tossed her one egg and the blonde girl tried to hit it with the paper roll, but it ended up smashed on the floor. 

She laughed, looking down at the cracked egg at her feet, and shook her head. “Try again! I’ll hit it this time!” She adjusted and got into place, waving the roll over her shoulder. 

Mason nodded his head and, grabbing another egg from the carton, he tossed it over. Lizzie swung the roll with all her strength and missed it. The egg once again ended up on the floor. 

“Eww.” She wrinkled her nose, feeling some of it splashing her ankle. “Now you try!” She handed Mason the paper roll and fetched an egg before she walked back to her spot. She pitched him the egg so fast that it ended up smashed against the counter behind her best friend. 

 _I’m on my way home... I can’t wait for you to show me how well you can roll your tongue._ Claire texted Owen from her cab.

Owen knew he still had to wait until the kids were in bed to make all his texts come true, but the little tease didn’t fail to make him twitch. He pushed his cellphone in the front pocket of his jeans and went looking for the kids.

“No!! Why!?” He pulled his hair when he caught his daughter and her best friend leaking egg white after having broken the whole dozen over their heads. The kitchen floor was a mess and of course, the iguana’s travel terrarium was empty. 

Both kids turned to look at Owen and shrugged. Claire was going to be back soon and now he had to clean two kids, a kitchen, and find a reptile in within an hour. 

He ran to the kitchen window, it was pouring. “Go stand under the rain, go!!!” Owen opened the door to the small patio.  

“No...daddy...I’m sorry.” Lizzie started crying thinking he was doing that as a punishment and a severe one at that. Mason was looking at him with a frown, not sure what to feel at that. This guy was not his father grounding him, but at the same time, emotionally, it felt like he had disappointed him. 

“Shhh.. no... it’s just to wash off all that egg and for Claire not to find out.” He placed his finger on his lips, asking them to keep this a secret. “You make sure all of it is gone and then you stand on this towel.” Owen pointed out at the towel Claire had by the door, “and I’ll carry you to Mason’s room where you’ll change.” He thought he had this all figured out. 

Both kids nodded and slowly inched outside. The rain felt cold over them as they got soaked. Lizzie giggled and started to clean Mason’s hair, rubbing it with her hands so all the egg he had in it could be washed off. Then Mason did the same with hers. 

Inside, Owen started to clean the kitchen. He would occasionally look over, make sure the kids weren’t making it worse. The least of his troubles was Randall, who he would take care of later. 

After five minutes, the kids were freezing and shaking. He ran to get two towels and opened the door he let them step onto the towel like he had suggested earlier, and gave each kid a dry one. He had Mason strip off to his underwear while he made sure to wrap his daughter around the towel so she wouldn’t drip on the floor. He ran to Mason’s room and let her change there, fetching some clean clothes for the kid. 

Mason was wrapped around the towel once Owen was back, shivering while his wet clothes were on the towel. Owen picked him up and carried him to the bathroom so he could change there. 

By the time Claire was back home, he had managed to clean the kitchen and both kids were quietly snuggled under a blanket on the couch watching a movie. They were still trembling a little, but the heating Owen had set up was helping them get warm. 

Owen greeted her at the door with a gentle loving kiss before helping her with her coat.

“You guys are so warm here.” She smiled over to the kids liking how cozy it felt. “Were they any trouble?” She hugged Owen’s waist and stole a couple of pecks. 

Both kids looked guilty, watching Owen shake his head. Claire walked to the couch, and after greeting Lizzie, she kissed the top of her son’s head. “Ugh... what did you do to your hair?” She could smell that awful scent of raw egg. 

“Nothing!!” He mumbled against the blanket, trembling a little, his green eyes afraid. 

She narrowed her eyes and looked over to Owen, who shook his head. “Please wash it when you take your shower.” She said gently, brushing her fingers against his chin. 

Mason nodded slowly and sank further into the blanket, watching his mom walk back to Owen and curl her fingers in his shirt; she gave him a look, reminding him that if something had happened, she’d eventually find out. His arms wrapped around her waist, kissing the top of her head gently. 

 

* * *

 

Claire found Owen at the front yard of her apartment building. He had just finished assembling a trampoline for the kids and hadn’t been able to resist and play on it while they were still asleep.

“What . Is . This?” Claire tilted her head, watching him bounce around.

“I got it for the kids!” He stopped, a little out of breath and resting his hands on his knees he looked down into her eyes. “I’m sure they are going to love it!” 

Claire nodded. “You mean someone else’s kids, because mine is not getting on that.” She shook her head. That thing was just an accident waiting to happen. 

“C’mon! It’s safe! He is eight and Lizzie is almost eight, too. They are old enough to hang out and have fun on their own.” He rubbed the back of his neck. 

“I don’t know.” She frowned. 

“C’mon, why don’t you test it with me.” He smiled gently, reaching out for her hand. 

“Owen...” She shook her head, she really didn’t appreciate it when he put her in this position. She didn’t approve of that toy and he was trying to convince her instead of respecting her choice. 

“Please. I’ll put it away before they wake up. But please, can I have a careless moment with my girl?” He leaned closer. 

Claire nibbled on her lower lip and quietly started to remove her shoes. She took his hand and let him pull her up. She laughed, stumbling a little once she stood in front of him. 

Owen chuckled and started bouncing on his feet, lightly holding her from her waist. They kissed before Claire started to follow his lead. He smiled bigger, his hands were on her hips while she slowly started to loosen up and bounce on the trampoline. Seconds later, he started to follow her. 

Both adults engaged in a playful game of tag, laughing and just enjoying a moment of careless fun. 

Claire stopped once she was out of breath, her hand holding Owen’s. He pulled her closer and brushed her red hair off her face. He laughed contently and kissed her lips lovingly. She moaned into the kiss and held his waist, pulling him closer. 

“Can I flip you over?” He smiled. 

“No.” She pulled away, feeling his hands on her hips. “Don’t you dare!” She laughed. 

Owen shook his head and pulled her closer. “God, I love you.” He smiled, realizing he couldn’t stop kissing her. She giggled, feeling his lips against her neck. 

“I love you so much...” She hugged his neck and held him close. “But I hate that you can talk me into things so easily.” She gave away her weakness, having agreed to the trampoline. 

Owen fist bumped in victory. “I’ll put it away when they are not playing with it, so it won’t be all the time.” He promised. 

By then, both kids had already woken up and watched them through the window playing on the trampoline. Both adults looked up, watching them scream excitedly and slowly approach them.  

“This is awesome!!” Mason and Lizzie kept jumping high, thrilled with the new toy. 

“You guys be careful, okay?” Owen slowly got off the trampoline and then carried Claire down. 

“We will be standing right here.” Claire added out loud, giving Owen a look. They were not going anywhere.

Owen hugged her from behind. Their fingers laced over her abdomen while they watched those two kids laughing and jumping around. She sighed contently, looking over her shoulder and kissing Owen gently. If Mason was happy, then she was happy, and she knew it was because of Owen and every little thing he came up with. 

It didn’t take long for Claire to start feeling comfortable with the kids playing on the trampoline. It seemed Owen had been right and they were old enough to play on it with precaution. She turned around and brushed her nose against his cheekbone. “Do you want to get out of here? We can go bounce on my bed?” She bit on her lower lip, her green eyes seductively fixed on his. 

“We will be upstairs.” Owen called out before swiping Claire off her feet and running back inside. 

Claire giggled and held tight onto his neck. He desperately started pressing the elevator button, wanting for it to hurry back down. He kissed her lips hungrily a couple of times and stepped into the elevator with her, pressing for her floor. 

Once there, he rushed to her front door, stepped in and pushed it closed with his feet. 

He dropped her onto her bed, making her laugh at how desperate he was. Owen ripped his own shirt off and threw it to the side. He sat against the headboard and shifted, getting comfortable. 

“Come here...baby.” He rubbed the inside of his thigh, sitting with his legs parted. 

Claire giggled and slowly straddled him, moaning into his lips, feeling how quick he was to cup her butt cheeks.

 

* * *

 

Owen was nervously tapping the pen he had been handed against the clip board with the hospital form he had to fill out. He kept looking over to Mason, who had already managed to calm down, but was holding his arm bent over against his chest while a nurse was splinting it. 

Those green eyes were breaking his heart. The kid was sobbing and his eyes were red after the intense crying. Owen felt like Mason was looking at him with disappointed eyes, like he had failed him. He brushed his eyes with his hands and rubbed his face, letting it rest in the palm of his hands. If that’s the way Mason was looking at him, he was dreading his favorite pair of eyes, which would be completely broken. Claire trusted him with her kid and now he was sitting in the Emergency Room getting a cast on and getting X-Rays taken, because they had gotten carried away on the trampoline and Mason had ended up falling on his arm. 

“Sir? Are you done with those?” The nurse asked him, interrupting his trail of thought. “Yes. I’m just missing the insurance information.” Owen nodded. He had been able to fill it all out with Mason’s medical record and personal information. 

“I want my mommy.” Mason pouted. The hospital had contacted Claire about half an hour before to inform her that her eight-year-old son was in the ER with a possible broken wrist. 

“She is on her way, champ.” Owen frowned. 

“Do you want to get some really cool photos taken out of your arm?” The nurse asked the kid before helping him stand up. 

He nodded and sniffed, using his other arm to wipe his tears. Owen immediately stood up, wanting to follow: there was no way he would take his eyes off the kid. 

“I’m sorry sir, just family members are allowed to come with.” The nurse frowned. She hated this part of the policy, since sometimes parents weren’t immediately available and it was best for the kids to have someone they trusted around. 

“Who says I’m not? I’m his father!” Owen lied. 

The young nurse looked at him, a bit taken aback, but Mason’s eyes were big, filled with joy. 

“He is my son.” He insisted. 

Mason was still too young to understand that Owen was just trying to sneak into the X-Ray with him. To the kid, Owen had just acknowledged him as his son and that was making him feel fuzzy inside. The kid smiled, his eyes never leaving Owen. He had never heard anyone call him that (aside from his mom of course), not even Josh. 

“Okay...stepson?” Owen offered a cheeky smile. The nurse didn’t take it. “Listen, I don’t know how long it’s going to take my girlfriend to get here and I can’t...I can’t let him go in there alone.” He shrugged. 

The nurse offered an apologetic shake of her head and started to walk in with Mason. Owen went back to his chair and waited for Claire. He kept staring at his screen, hoping for her to text him and insult him, go off on him, so once she made it to the hospital from work she would be calmer. 

Claire had been able to get out of work the moment she got the call, and took a cab straight to the hospital. Owen knew she was near because of the peculiar clicking her hurried steps had against the floor. 

“Hi. Claire Dearing? My kid—“ She gulped completely out of breath and scared. “My son is Mason Dearing, he was brought with a broken wrist?” She asked. 

The nurse at the front desk nodded and handed her the form so she could fill the insurance information that was missing and check on the rest. She was too upset to notice how Owen had been able to fill it up on his own, something that only Karen would have been able to do aside from her. 

“Babe?” The man reached out timidly. 

Claire placed a hand on her belly and took a deep breath. She was freaking out. There was not a worse call a mother could take than the local hospital calling saying her son was in the ER. 

She didn’t turn around. Instead, she tried to focus and fill in the pending information in the form. Claire handed it back with shaky fingers.

“I need a hug but I can’t face you right now.” She sobbed, trying to take deep breaths. 

Owen frowned and slowly turned her around. He gently reached out to hug her but the redhead pushed him away from her.

“What were you thinking!?” She fixed her eyes on him, offering that look he had been dreading all along. “WHY!? why CAN’T you be a god damn ADULT for five minutes?” She sobbed. 

“Ma’am…” The nurse had to interrupt her, yelling wasn’t allowed inside the hospital premises. 

Claire started to storm off back to the cold wind at the front of the building. She sighed, hugging her waist while looking up. Owen rubbed the back of his neck, and after a couple of seconds he followed her. He knew he had to face her like that at some point, and better now than later.

“I told you no. I said I didn’t want my son on that stupid trampoline.” She started crying. “But you can’t respect that. You need to get your way some how.” She shook her head and looked down at her shoes. 

Owen gulped. 

“I knew it was just an accident waiting to happen. What if he had hit his head or...?” Claire was thinking the worst. She didn’t know if she was being paranoid or if this reaction was normal, but she had to let it out. 

“I’m sorry.” He frowned. He felt awful. The last thing he wanted was to hurt Mason, that kid already went through a lot as it was. “I didn’t mean for this to happen.”

“No, but it did! It did because you are incapable of being a grownup and stop this when it’s required. You just need to be the cool guy who will let them hide things behind mom’s back.” She shook her head. 

Claire felt like she had let a lot of things slide off because she loved that he was trying to help, but it was starting to be too much, and now this had happened. 

“You think I don’t know that you guys play video games all afternoon instead of studying, or how he ended with egg all over his head a couple of days ago and it’s all cool because you cleaned up.” She was tired of him playing her for a fool. 

Claire was crying, covering her eyes with her hands. “He is not the first kid to even break a wrist nor will he be the last.” Owen shrugged, feeling a little attacked, so he tried to bring this back to what Claire was worried about. “Every kid will break something at some point. It’s part of growing up.” 

“I have never broken a bone!” She spat. “Lizzie has never broken anything either... but you couldn’t possibly know that!” Claire gasped and covered her mouth once she realized how harsh that had sounded. 

“Is this how things are going to be?” He was obviously hurt. “I fuck up and you throw in my face how I was not there for seven years so that means I’m a neglectful asshole who can’t do anything right?”

Claire’s green eyes were big as she shook her head. 

“Damn it, Claire.” He chuckled and brushed his hair with his fingers. “You keep getting my head ripped off for sins that aren’t even mine.” 

The redhead gulped and frowned. She tried reach out for his arm but he pulled away. “I get it...I need to go for a walk before I say or do something I don’t mean.” He was looking down at his shoes, pushing his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. “Tell Mason I’ll go see him when they let me in...if...or whenever.” He shrugged and slowly started to walk away. 

Claire watched him walk away and slowly headed back inside. She was guided to the small hospital room where Mason was waiting for her. 

“Baby...” She pouted, slowly checking his new cast. It was a replica of Iron man’s arm. Claire hugged her kid and kissed the top of his head a couple of times. “How are you feeling?” She asked closing her eyes while Mason rested his head on her chest. 

“I’m okay. They gave me a pill for the pain and took cool pictures with this sick camera and all!” He said about his X-Ray. 

“You know that trampoline has to go, right?” She smiled softly, her fingers pushing his dark hair back. 

“I know.” Mason pursed his lips and nodded disappointed. “I’m sorry I scared you.” He frowned. Owen had mentioned something about how this would freak her out. 

“One day, I’ll be old and my heart won’t be able to handle this. You have to be more careful, okay?” She made him promise before the doctor was back. 

He explained the X-Ray to Claire and handed her a prescription, in case Mason complained that his wrist hurt. Mason had suffered a minor fracture and he had to come back in two to three weeks to have his cast taken off. 

Claire nodded at all the recommendations for his showers and when he complained that it itched. “Baby, are you paying attention?” She raised an eyebrow. The kid was too distracted making shooting sounds with his lips while playing with his iron man arm cast. 

“Yes mommy.” He nodded and kept playing. 

Claire rolled her eyes and her attention went back to the doctor. The nurse interrupted them; now that the kid’s mom was present, she allowed Owen to come in and check on the kid. 

Claire’s eyes lit up, trying to make contact with him. She knew she owned him an apology. Owen didn’t turn to look at her, but did put a smile up for Mason, who was excited to see him. Claire frowned and watched him sit next to the kid on the hospital bed. 

“Do you like my cast!?” He showed him knowing Owen would think it was cool. 

“Yeah, but where am I going to sign it for you, huh?” 

“What do you mean?” Mason was not familiar with that old school tradition. 

“When I was a kid and someone broke an arm or a leg, the rest of us would sign it. We would draw funny stuff on it or write stuff.” He shrugged. “But this one is too cool for that.” Owen scratched his head.

Claire was quiet by the doctor. She nibbled on her lower lip, watching him be nice to the kid even when he was obviously upset. 

“How are you feeling though?” The man wondered. “You were so brave, I would have fainted!” Owen offered for the kid’s benefit. 

“It doesn’t hurt anymore.” Mason shook his head, looking down to his cast. 

“Alright then. That’s a good thing.” Owen helped the kid down from the bed and after thanking the doctor and the nurse, all three walked out of the hospital room. Claire holding Mason from his good hand.

Once by the door, Owen stopped walking and looked outside, before bringing his attention back to Claire and her son. 

“Do you want to head back with us? Maybe we can stop somewhere for some burgers or something and then head home?” Claire smiled softly, reaching out and letting her free hand brush down his chest before he tilted his body to the side.

“I think I’m just going to head home.” He frowned and shook his head. 

“Oh.” Claire nodded. “Maybe we can text later?” She tried to find his eyes but he was avoiding her, his eyes on Mason instead. 

He looked up and shrugged. “Take care of that cast, alright buddy?” He offered a high five and Mason let go of her mom to give to him. 

The kid then hugged him lightly, “Thank you for bringing me here.” He smiled. 

“Of course.” Owen nodded before letting go. “Alright. I’ll see you guys around.” He gave Claire a nod and once Mason was holding her hand back, he turned around and started walking away. 


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shoutout to my editor in chief <3

The sound of a metallic tag clinging from one side to the other was heard through the hallway in Claire’s apartment. There was a black and white morkie puppy following Owen with a toy in her mouth. 

“Shh, Molly!” He kept trying to have the puppy to leave him alone, he had a piece of newspaper in his hands and was looking for the last condom pack he had gotten months ago. 

The dog kept whining while trying to make him take her toy so they could play. Owen and the puppy were the only ones home. Claire had taken Lizzie shopping for her birthday outfit like she had promised a couple of months ago on their camping trip, and Mason was at a friend’s house working on a school project. 

Molly had been Owen’s birthday gift to Lizzie. Her real birthday had been on Tuesday but they were celebrating it on Sunday. The man had gotten the pet without consulting with Brenda beforehand, and this time around even Claire had teamed up with her; it wasn’t cool to just bring a dog to someone else’s house without previously agreeing it was okay. 

So, after Brenda had refused to accept the puppy in her house, Owen had decided to keep her and convince Lizzie this way was better, so that meant she would have an excuse to visit him more often. Claire was now the one not too happy with his decision. From the moment Brenda had demanded for the puppy to stay with Owen, the redhead knew that meant she’d end up being the one dealing with it; that, if she wanted Owen to stay over. 

He grabbed Molly after getting enough of her high-pitched barking and set her in the sink. The puppy was about the size of the palm of his hand. 

He finally found the box deep into the sink cabinet drawer and pulled it out. He sat on the toilet lid and started to look for the batch number. The piece of newspaper he had in his hands was a recall from the brand he always used. His pack was Batch Number 1000438054, its Expiration Date was Jan 2021, which he eventually found on the list. 

Owen opened the brand new box and took one of the condoms out of the wrapper. He started to carefully stretch it, trying to see if he could spot any visible malfunction. He and Claire hadn’t used condoms since the first time they had slept together, as she was effectively on the pill now. They had kept that box just in case, so Owen brushed the red flag off. He folded the piece of paper and slipped it into the box before he left it in the drawer. 

He threw the opened condom in the basket along with the wrapper, and picking Molly up, he headed back to the living room so he could finish reading the sports section in the newspaper.  

 

* * *

 

Claire was holding Lizzie’s hand while they went up the escalator in the mall. The eight-year-old girl was excited. This was the first time she was doing some actual shopping. 

“Can we try dresses and shoes and hats and tops and make-up samples?” She started listing while they headed to Crazy 8 on the second floor. 

“We can try whatever you want!” Claire assured her before they ran to the store to find the perfect outfit to go with her party theme this year. Owen, with Claire’s help, had managed to put together the candy bar and the beauty parlor Lizzie had confessed to the redhead she wanted. Claire was positive she was going to love it. 

“This is definitely more fun than buying sheets and towels which is what my mom calls shopping.” The blonde girl thought out loud, making Claire chuckle. 

“You know we can window shop any time you want.” Claire suggested. 

“Window shop? That sounds boring, like the kind of boring shopping my step dad does at Home Depot!” Lizzie shook her head. 

“No.” Claire shook her head. “That means you come to the mall and you have fun looking at stuff and even try something on, but you don’t really buy them.” 

“Like playing dress up at the mall?” Her hazel eyes grew big. “I love it!” Lizzie agreed before she started looking for a dress she liked. 

Claire smiled to herself and started looking too. She had found some really cute dresses that she thought the kid would like.

“These are so cute! Nothing like that stuff my mom buys me at Macy’s or whatever.” She wrinkled her nose thinking about the kind of outfit she thought she had outgrown. 

Claire let Lizzie try as many dresses, skirts and tops as she wanted. The blonde girl was quietly appreciating the patience Claire was offering; Brenda would have made her get the fist thing that fit and call it a day. 

“Why don’t you try this out?” Claire offered a paisley print blue dress with some turquoise and pink in it. 

Once the kid was out, the woman helped her into a brown fuzzy coat and smiled, watching how much Lizzie was loving the way she looked in it. Claire bent down to her height and slowly fixed her hair a little. 

There were so many traits in her, aside from her hazel eyes, that were all Owen, and that Claire hadn’t noticed until now that she was looking at her so closely and paying attention to her features. 

Claire then suggested a pair of tall light brown boots to complement her outfit and polka dotted tights. The outfit was perfect for a late-November outdoors birthday party. Lizzie loved it so much that she decided to take it and make it her birthday outfit. 

After their shopping, Claire and Lizzie decided to stop for some lunch at the mall food court. The girl was holding her bags while the redhead paid for their food and they both went looking for a table.

“I can’t wait for you to be my stepmom!” Lizzie kept reminding her. The first time the blonde had brought the subject up had been at the zoo, when Claire was cleaning all that sunscreen off her hair. 

Claire blushed lightly: that was a statement she was never going to get tired of hearing. It was really moving that her boyfriend’s daughter approved of her that much, even when they had known each other since Lizzie could remember. 

“Daddy loves you so much already.” The blonde girl started to share what she had observed. “Imagine when you are married!” 

Claire nibbled on her lower lip and looked down, smiling to herself. “Has he said anything about that?” The redhead tried to sound casual when asking. The first and last time he had brought it up was for Halloween when he’d bursted out that he couldn’t wait to marry her before the kids had interrupted them. 

Lizzie shook her head. “But mom is always talking about it at dinner. My step dad is always rolling his eyes.” The blonde girl giggled.

Claire frowned. As a single mom, she didn’t need to know anything else to understand it was all about Brenda bitterly talking about her relationship with her ex-husband. She didn’t blame her either. She could understand, and to an extend she was glad the blonde woman had found a way to accept the relationship and respect it. 

“She says that daddy never treated her the way he treats you and that she doesn’t understand where your patience for him comes from.” The girl explained before picking her cup with both her hands and taking a sip. 

“Oh.” Claire reached for her fork and took a bite of her salad while the kid kept talking about the different things Brenda had pointed out that she had noticed between both relationships. Even if she was very curious to learn more about it, she knew better than to enable the kid to call out her mom like that.

“How is it like to have a boyfriend?” Lizzie looked into Claire’s green eyes, releasing a sigh. “How does it feel to be in love?” The blonde girl wondered, day dreaming that one day she’d get to experience all of it. “I would ask my mom but she doesn’t look as in love as you do.” The eight-year-old was very observant; that’s probably why she was starting to be fond of photography. She had loved Claire’s birthday present: she had gotten her a camera — a real one — and she spent hours in her backyard taking photos of her mom’s flowers and learning how to use the different filters and zooms. 

Claire felt her cheeks grow warm at that question and how the kid had taken that she was madly in love with her dad. “Um...it feels like you are flying high and you get this fuzzy feeling in your tummy every time you are with that person.” She smiled, trying to explain how Owen made her feel in words the kid could relate to. “And you are very happy and you feel…safe.” 

Lizzie nodded, wanting to hear more. “Is that how my dad makes you feel?” 

Claire nodded. “Yes...I feel butterflies every time he tells me I’m pretty and I like the way he makes me blush when he kisses my nose.” Claire found herself a little carried away. 

“And people in love feed each other too!” Lizzie had noticed Claire and Owen did that a lot, while her mom and stepdad didn’t. Of course, she was too young to understand there were different kinds of relationships and the fact that Claire and her dad were more mushy than Brenda and her husband didn’t mean the latter couple didn’t love each other.

Claire giggled and tucked her hair behind her ears as she shrugged lightly. “We just like flirting with each other like that.” 

“What’s flirting?” Lizzie wondered while she ate her pizza. “Is that when he makes you laugh and it’s all playful with you?” 

Claire nodded. “Yeah.” 

“So from one to a hundred how in love are you with my dad?” Lizzie wondered. 

Claire laughed softly while picking on her salad. “A solid hundred.” 

“He said five hundred when I asked him.” Lizzie narrowed her eyes. 

“Then a thousand.” Claire corrected herself.

Lizzie nodded and looked around. “Claire? Where do babies come from?” She had been wanting to ask that. She wasn’t believing that whole stork tale anymore. She had seen them at the zoo and they had no babies around. 

“I don’t know, where do you think they come from?” Claire tilted her head, waiting to learn what the kid knew beforehand. 

Lizzie shrugged. “Well... I know babies grow up inside a mommy’s belly and then they go to the hospital to take it out.” She didn’t know the details as to how they took the baby out. “And that’s your birthday!”

Claire nodded. “That sounds about right.” She looked away before she started eating some of her salad. “So are you excited about your birthday party!?” Claire tried change the subject. 

“I know it has to do with being in love too. And you are in love, so that’s why I’m asking.” Lizzie smiled softly. 

“A baby is the product of two people loving each other very much.” She agreed for the kid’s benefit. 

“So that means my mom and daddy loved each other very much.” She figured. “And you and Mason’s dad loved each other very much.” She concluded. 

“Um...” Claire chewed on the inside of her lip and chuckled. 

“Are you and daddy having a baby too!?” Her eyes grew big: she’d love a baby brother or sister. 

“No...no.” Claire shook her head. “I don’t think so.” She was very firm on the idea that she didn’t want to have any more kids, and she and Owen had already briefly discussed that...for a second. 

Lizzie frowned. “How do you stop a baby from growing in your belly when you are so in love?” 

The redhead licked her lips and rubbed her arm. “See, having a baby it’s...um...grown ups have ways to preve—avo—decide if they want a baby or not so they can still love each other very much and not have a baby.” 

The blonde girl nodded. “I guess if they didn’t, then people in love would be having so many babies, one after the other, like my cousin’s cats.” 

“Yeah, something like that.” Claire chuckled and nodded. 

 

* * *

 

Lizzie’s eighth birthday party was a success. Every one of her friends wouldn’t stop saying how she had the best party all year long. Even the boys like Mason had loved it, Owen making sure there was something for them to enjoy besides the candy since he knew they wouldn’t be really into the whole beauty parlor.

The blonde girl felt like a princess in the cute outfit Claire had helped her put together the day before. She had also used her new camera to take her own photos so she could print them and do a scrapbook. One of her friends had gotten her a scrapbook kit with all sorts of stickers and glitter and over 800 accessories. She and Claire had agreed to put it together next weekend after Brenda printed the photos for her.

Molly was sleeping in her dog bed by Owen’s side of the bed while he and Claire enjoyed some left over cake in the middle of the night. The dog was not allowed on the beds or the couch at Claire’s place. 

Owen was having fun with the whipped cream as well as the candy they had picked from the bar to bring home. The redhead was giggling, lying in bed against the headrest watching Owen make a line of M&Ms from her belly button up her abdomen and between her breasts. 

He ate them one by one, before nibbling on the spot of skin they were revealing. He wiped some of the cake’s whipped cream with his finger and spread it around her naked breasts. Claire nibbled on her lower lip and moaned softly, feeling him taste it straight from her skin and adoring her breasts for a few seconds.

He finally looked up. She laughed softly at how he had some cream around his mouth. Claire pulled him close and kissed him soundly and deeply, cleaning the white substance from his lips while devouring them with her own. 

He finally adjusted next to her after having spent the past forty five minutes on top of her, making love to her, before he had started playing with the candy and the whipped cream. 

“I still can’t believe she’s got that mad for that whole thing with Lizzie.” Claire laughed before cutting some of the cake with the fork and feeding it to Owen. 

After she had dropped the blonde girl home the previous day, the kid hadn’t wasted time to tell her mom how Claire had said that people had a choice to let a baby grow inside a mommy’s belly or not, no matter how much they loved each other. 

Of course Claire didn’t mean it like that, and completely out of context it sounded like she had turned the eight-year-old into a pro-choice activist. 

“Well, you did tell my daughter it’s okay to stop an unwanted pregnancy.” Owen teased her before he let his lips peck down her jawline.

“That’s not what I said though!” Claire kept insisting. “But it’s still true.” She mumbled about abortion being an option. 

“Maybe Brenda’s also mad because she probably knows can’t hold a candle to you in bed, either.” Owen groaned, unable to stop his lips from adoring each one of her freckles with kisses.

Claire laughed. “That’s what Lizzie said.” She nodded. “Well, she didn’t say in bed but in general.” 

“How did you end up tangled in that conversation with her anyways?” He wondered, holding her close before they exchanged a couple of loving pecks. 

“She wanted to know how true love felt like...” She smiled.

“And you are an expert in that field...” He grinned playfully. 

“You bet I am.” She nodded before poking his nose with her finger. She laughed, feeling him crawl on top of her again and kissing her lips a few times. 

He rested his knees against the mattress, her body between them while he leaned down and kissed her lips lovingly. 

“You are the love of my life...”


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shoutout to my editor in chief <3

There was nothing better than spending a couple of days away from everything and everyone, to just relax and do what you pleased, without the concern that an eight-year-old might catch you doing things you wouldn’t be able to explain. 

So for Claire’s birthday, Owen had rented a luxury yacht for them to sail through a bit of the Atlantic Ocean in Miami, away from their everyday life and interruptions. Brenda had agreed for Mason to stay with her for the weekend so the couple could finally enjoy a weekend without babysitting. 

Their flight was quiet and peaceful; they were spending that time adjusting to the idea that they could just relax without worrying that one of the kids could be doing some monkey business down the aisle or in the lady’s hair in the front row seat. 

Owen had been saving every penny he could from the day he’d learned his girlfriend’s birthday, so now he could afford to blow it all up on her and give her the getaway she deserved. 

They were in first class, enjoying a glass of champagne in their leather seats. The bright smile on Claire’s face was enough to assure Owen that this sacrifice was worth it. He couldn’t help brushing her red hair off her neck so he could let his lips adore each freckle on her skin. 

They pulled up the armrest between them, so they could nuzzle closer. They tried to keep it family friendly, so they could stay out of trouble with the flight attendant who had made it her duty to make sure they didn’t go beyond chaste pecks. 

It wasn’t until they had been up in the air for about an hour that Claire adjusted and started to look around. She closed the window blind and nudged Owen so he could stand up and let her out. She smiled mischievously and asked him to move to her seat while she went to the lavatory. 

Owen did as told and was met by the redhead a few minutes later. She nibbled on her lower lip and casually rested one of their blankets on his lap. He smirked and raised an eyebrow. Claire giggled, and once she made sure the flight attendant wasn’t close by, she undid his jeans and pulled them down a bit. 

“Time for you to relax and let me spoil you for a little bit...” Claire murmured into his ear, caressing his lower abdomen and peppering his jawline slowly down to his lips. She groaned sensually, her fingers disappearing under his briefs. 

After ten minutes, Owen and Claire met inside the first class lavatory. They were turning around while he found a way to devour her in that tiny space. His hands were quick to pull her top off over her head and set it in the sink. He kissed down her collarbone, completely worked up after the hand job Claire had offered before they rushed in there. 

She giggled quietly, the months of practice to keep it low while Mason or both kids were asleep were paying off. She followed his lead and also brought his shirt over his head, her hands taking in on his firm muscles, feeling how he was pressing her tightly against the sink. 

She moaned, nibbling on his chin. “I like it when you are all worked up...I can’t get enough of it.” She breathed before kissing him gently but deeply, feeling his fingers brushing up her legs under her skirt, brining her panties down with them. 

He chuckled, completely erected, desperate to feel her. He pushed his pants down and let his fingers brush down her hair. “Turn around.” He demanded with a murmur against her ear, leading her to stand in front of the toilet; bending her over, he made sure to pull her skirt up to her hip and take her from behind. 

 

* * *

 

Once on their Yacht, they found the bedroom welcoming them with a romantic decor and atmosphere. An ice bucket holding one of the finest Champagne bottles Miami Beach offered was sitting on one side of the bed, along with a basket that featured at least four types of tropical fruits and chocolate.

They didn’t waste any time to change into their swimwear so they could enjoy the warm weather and a sunbath on the deck. This one included a small jetted tub and a few sun beds. 

Owen sailed their yacht down into the ocean, Claire next to him on the flying bridge, watching him maneuver the boat through the water. 

“You are a man of many hidden talents, Owen Grady.” She smiled, turned on and impressed that he knew his way around the controls. 

He smiled and kissed her soundly a couple of times. “Nah. I spent like a month watching YouTube tutorials on how to sail.” He joked, before resting his hands on her naked waist and pull her close to him. 

“So you wouldn’t be able to let me sail, then?” She nibbled on her lip, tucking her long red hair behind her ears while it kept flying over her face through the breeze and wind the yacht was producing. 

He nodded and slowly held her from behind, nosing into her neck and leaving kisses down on it, letting her know how much he adored her with the touch of his lips. 

Claire looked over her shoulder and smiled, pressing her forehead against his, their lips kissing lovingly for a few seconds before his hands moved up her arms and found themselves massaging her breasts. She giggled while he moaned; Owen truly couldn’t get enough of her breasts. 

“Okay...” He laughed realizing he was getting distracted and carried away. He hugged her waist while showing her every button and switch on the control panel. 

Claire was a fast learner and an intelligent woman: it didn’t take long before she got the hang of it. She was happily controlling the wheel through the ocean, making sure the yacht was sailing to their destination. Owen nibbled on her shoulder and watched her hands move around the required controllers, turning at the accurate angle as they went. 

“You keep going north...” he groaned against her ear, closing his eyes and letting his nose take in the sweet scent of her shampoo. “I’ll go south...” He added, his fingers moving down her flat abdomen before slipping under her bikini bottoms. His other hand pressed her against his frame, her inner thigh able to feel how much he wanted her while his fingers slid into the most private spot of her body, making her moan. She tilted her head up, letting him kiss her while the yacht followed its course. 

Claire and Owen had chopped the pineapple they had been given with the rest of their basket of goodies, and were now enjoying the juicy fruit inside the jetted tub on the yacht’s deck. They had reached a distance in the ocean where it was just the two of them, so they had decided to enjoy of the pool naked. 

They had been dating for almost eight months now, and not once had the couple been able to fully explore their sexual appetite. Even if their first night together had been amazing round after round, the aftermath had been ruined by his ex busting them. 

After that, it was all about sneaking around after the kids’ bedtime in the middle of the night, or early in the morning before they woke up. That yellow light flashing in precaution never truly let them have the best out of it. 

The nectar coming from the pineapple was sweeter than its usual taste. They found it even more delicious on each other’s tongue. They would feed each other a piece and nibble on it, letting the other one moan at the freshness after feeling it in the other’s mouth. 

The fruit they had chosen among the other aphrodisiac ones was indeed doing its job. Claire giggled at the teasing and needy kisses Owen kept planting on her lips. 

“I love you...” Claire offered, her fingers pinching one piece of pineapple before feeding it to Owen. “This is the best birthday I’ve ever had.” She offered genuinely, especially coming from a partner. Josh would just send her some flowers and expect some sex before going to sleep. 

“I love you too, gorgeous.” He smiled, fully in love with the way her green eyes were looking at him. He also fed her a piece of pineapple. “Are you happy? I want to make you happy. I want to spoil you, adore you...” 

Claire nodded softly. “You make me happy. You make me feel safe and supported in all I do.” She added softly, her nose brushing against his cheek. “And this getaway...it’s perfect. Thank you.” 

“Hey, you deserve this and more.” He kissed her forehead. “You deserve the world, a pedestal for all the hard work you do and how you have push through it on your own.” 

Claire smiled softly and shook her head. “You are my rock, you know? I’m so thankful for you and your help. You are my strength.” Maybe she had been able to do it all alone for almost eight years, but he was more than someone she could rely on. “Not only emotionally but all around.” 

Owen smiled hearing her say that. She always made him feel appreciated but the bond went beyond that. “You and Mason made me feel from the start like I belong to and I’m part of your little family.” 

He had never seen her smile so brightly and lovingly since meeting her. “Aren’t you?” She adjusted against his chest and let his hands hold her gently in his embrace, “part of our family?” She felt her voice cracking a little. 

It had only been eight months but Owen was already more of a father figure to her son than Josh would ever be, and that was one of the most meaningful things for Claire — if not the most meaningful. “I am...we are a family.” He nodded. “You and that amazing little man...I never felt like I had a family until I met you, babe.” And that included Lizzie too, and how Claire had helped him create a bond with her, and now he was a part of her life. 

By the time the sun was starting to set, Claire was wearing a cover up dress over her bikini, since the weather was cooling down slightly. They had let some soft music fill the yacht while they enjoyed their evening dancing on the deck.

She had her face gently buried in the crook of his neck, nuzzling softly into it and peppering it with gentle kisses. Owen had one of his hands resting on the small of her back while he intertwined their fingers with the other one. Claire’s free hand held him close by his shoulder. 

They were now dancing to _Come_ _Rain_ _or_ _Come_ _Shine_ by Ray Charles. Both completely disconnected from the world and in a moment where it was just the two of them, letting the soft melody guide their bodies. 

Owen slowly pulled back just so he could twirl her around and watch her smile. He then bent her backwards and smiled playfully at her, before bringing her back on her feet. 

Claire smiled against his lips, now both her hands hugging his neck while he wrapped his strong arms around her waist. “I’ll love you like no one has ever loved you, come rain or come shine.” He promised her while singing along, before kissing her lovingly and keeping her in his embrace until the sun set fully behind them. 


	10. Christmas Special: I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Both Mason and Lizzie are now eight years old, that age when kids find out the truth behind Santa Claus.
> 
> Some kids find out from their friends, some figure it out on their own. But Mason and Lizzie? Well... Claire making out with “Santa” kind of did the trick.

 

You can read the Christmas special [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17108633)


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shoutout to my editor in chief!

“We are going to be late!!! Let’s go!!!” Both Mason and Lizzie were excited to go to their first birthday party of the year. The two of them were ready, each holding the present they had gotten for their friend. 

“Coming!” Owen called out from Claire’s bedroom. She was still in bed, under the sheets. He was going to take them to the party on his own, since Claire was still recovering from the flu. 

Both parents had decided to take Mason and Lizzie out to Times Square for New Years and the redhead had gotten sick after spending so many hours standing outdoors. It had been worth it, though. Sure, it had been hours of standing in a crowd, but the kids had been so happy and they had played Heads Up with Lizzie’s iPad while waiting for the celebration to start to try distracting them, so they wouldn’t get tired and bored. They had teamed up, playing girls vs boys, and of course Claire and Lizzie had kicked Owen and Mason’s butts. For her, it had definitely been the best New Years she had ever had in her life, just like last Christmas and her past birthday — Owen truly made her happy, and even when dealing with two mischievous kids, it was everything she ever wanted: the whole package, and all the headaches were worth it.

They had also talked about something they would like to do for this new year, and they had all agreed that a trip to Disney would be a great idea. The kids had promised to behave, and even chip in with some of their allowance to help pay for the trip. 

This had been almost ten days ago, but Owen kept insisting she shouldn’t leave home to go out in the snow if it wasn’t necessary. He handed her a glass of water and her antibiotics: she was in the last few days of her doses. 

Claire smiled lovingly at him and took it, before pecking his lips a couple of times. Owen adjusted on the edge of the bed and let his lips move down her jawline, his hands moving under the sheets, caressing her warm legs, up her thigh. 

“The kids are waiting...” She reminded him, feeling his fingers inching closer to the middle of her legs. 

“I’m desperate...” He groaned, nibbling her chin before kissing her lips soundly. “We haven’t had any sexy times this year.” He whined, leaning closer, while his lips nibbled behind her ear and his hand massaged her through her panties. 

Claire giggled before biting on her lower lip. “Poor baby...” she pouted, playful about him going through a dry spell for ten days now. “Babe...” she moaned, feeling his fingers get carried away. “What..what are you doing?” She gasped before they starting kissing hungrily. 

“I’m making sure that when I get back...you’ll be heated up and ready to go.” He moaned, feeling how her body was quickly reacting to his touch. 

Her eyes looked into his with desire and her hands softly cupped his bulge; he was semi hard. “Hurry back.” She agreed to have a morning of lust once he was back sans kids and they wouldn’t have to worry about them for a few hours; winter break from school had also meant they had to take a break, since Mason and Lizzie were unpredictable and wouldn’t let them have a moment alone. 

Owen stopped by the bathroom before joining Mason and Lizzie in the living room, who were watching some television while waiting. “Okay monkeys, let’s go!” He grabbed his jacket and watched Mason rush in to say goodbye to his mom and come back, ready to leave. 

 

* * *

 

Claire knew Owen was back home when she heard the front door behind slammed. He didn’t waste any time and kicked his shoes at the entrance, as well as shrugging his jacket off, and started rushing through the hall while pulling his shirt over his head. 

Claire laughed while still in bed. She set her book down and nibbled on her lower lip. She was wearing a black short lace nightgown and helped him by kicking the thick comforter and sheets down her legs. 

Owen didn’t lose a minute to push his pants down and kick them off. In a matter of seconds, he was crawling onto the bed and adjusting his naked body against Claire’s.

She bent her legs up and felt him adjust between them while their lips kissed slowly but hungrily. The smacking of his lips against her neck filled the room, while his hands roamed up her warm thighs, looking for that piece of fabric blocking his body from hers. 

Claire moaned, feeling how firm his tip was between her and pulled back a little. “Not so fast, sailor...” She blushed, her fingers pushing his hair to the side. 

Hazel eyes looked at her with desperate desire: Owen leaned and kissed her lips soundly a couple of times. 

“I’m off the pill due to the antibiotics, so we need a condom this time.” She smiled sweetly. “So you go to the bathroom and fetch a few and then I’m all yours for the rest of the day.” She promised. 

Owen sighed, and with a nod he pecked her lips lovingly a couple of times and ran down the hall to the bathroom. 

His fingers rushed through the sink cabinet drawer: he was positive he had seen a new box there somewhere a couple of months ago, but then again they never used condoms, so he might have been wrong. 

He found an opened box and chuckled in victory. Owen found the folded piece of newspaper he had left in there and when he read they were a recall, he groaned. 

“Babe...?” Claire called out. She was all worked up after having stopped him when he was already almost inside of her. 

“Coming!” He called back before he rubbed the back of his head. It was hard to think straight when his second head was heated up. 

He started looking again, to see if he had any luck and could find other condoms that didn’t belong to that box. He rummaged through every drawer, but when he found her tampons, he remembered she had been on her period recently. 

He hadn’t paid much attention to biology class, but he had been a man who slept around before meeting Claire and he knew a few tricks. He was convinced that having sex after, and not before her period, was safe.

“Should I start on my own?” Claire giggled playfully, hurrying him a bit. 

“No! I’m...one sec!” He started counting days on the wall calendar Claire had in the bathroom. He knew exactly the days she had been on her period, and started counting how many days it had been since then. He counted eight days so he smiled to himself: if he remembered correctly, that was a low chance of pregnancy. So who cared if the condoms weren’t good, there was minimum risk anyways. 

He folded the piece of newspaper back into the box and took a stripe of six condoms with him. Those kids would be at that party for a few hours, and he was going to make the best out of them. 

Claire giggled, feeling him crawl back on top of her. She hugged his neck and kissed him lovingly. “What took you so long?” She wondered nosing close. 

Owen shook his head and smiled down at her before kissing her sweetly, getting comfortable on top of her before making love to her like it was the first time. 

The first forty-five minutes had been intense: Claire’s skin was still blushed and sweaty while she giggled, feeling Owen hidden under the covers, teasing her with passionate tickles between her legs. 

The thing they were enjoying the most about their morning was the fact that they could be loud. Owen had a peculiar way of provoking loud cries of mercy and deep moans of pleading from Claire; noises she had always had to muffle against his lips or swallow to avoid them leaving her room and sparking the kids’ curiosity. 

The couple took Claire’s suggestion literally, and they didn’t leave any of the six condoms unused. After he emerged from under the sheets, Owen turned her around and made sure he worshipped every inch of her creamy skin. 

Owen gave her a light massage and relaxed her muscles and her mind. The way his fingers ran down her skin made Claire weak for him. It took her five to ten minutes before she started begging him to get behind her and take her with all he’d got. 

They never found the need to leave her king sized bed. They had many ways too enjoying each other without needing more than just their company. 

Claire was now the one straddling Owen’s hips from behind, returning that orgasmic message he had injected in her. She used her arms, her lips, her teeth, and Owen’s favorite: her naked breasts. 

She was the loud one of the two, so it felt nice to hear his groans without her own moans quieting them. “You like that, don’t you baby?” She smiled against his ear once he had kneeled down onto the mattress and she was behind him. 

Owen moaned, feeling her hand making sure he stayed hard for a couple of more rounds while their lips kissed passionately.

He turned around and rested against the headboard; he bent his knees lightly and smiled, watching that gorgeous woman get on top of him and straddle him so she could ride him. 

Loud moans and groans filled the apartment. Claire hadn’t been able to allow him to hear how she screamed his name since her birthday; he kept her steady over his hips as she swung hers. Owen loved this position: it not only allowed him to go deep and kiss her and let his lips devour her, but also, his hands had access to those beautiful rounded breasts. 

Both adults were lost in pleasure, completely disconnected from the world, in a moment for just the two of them and no one else. 

“Hey Mason!!” Karen called out as the kid ran off into the apartment. “Don’t forget to clean your shoes on the mat...” She finished her sentence, but knew the kid hadn’t heard her.

The green-eyed boy was already familiar with the panting and the groans Owen and his mom did while playing in her room. “They are doing the hugging challenge!” He announced, before he took his jacket off and left it on the rack like mom always asked. 

“The what?” Karen was confused. It wasn’t until she closed the door behind her that she heard the sexual noises coming out of her little sister. “Oh god.” She gasped. “No!!! —Wait! Don’t—don’t go in there!!” She tried to stop Mason, but he didn’t waste a second to rush over and was already running down the hall. 

“Cool! Can I play, too?” Mason grinned by the door, his aunt two seconds too late but still reached out to cover his eyes. 

“Fuck—Get out!!!” Claire didn’t even stop to breathe before she rolled off Owen and covered herself with the sheets. Owen let his hands fall on his member before Claire handed him a cushion. 

“We...we are going...” Karen briefly made eye contact with Claire, who was buried in the sheets, hiding how red she was, feeling like she wanted to die. The elder sister turned her nephew around and guided him out of the bedroom. “C’mon, hun..lets go get some ice cream, go find a good shrink, and maybe on our way back we can get mom a lock for her bedroom door, too.”

Mason nodded, his mind only registering the ice cream part, and started walking with Karen out of the bedroom. “Why were they naked though? Why was mom on top of Owen like that? Why was he kissing her boobies? That didn’t look like a hug at all. Was Owen or mom cheating while playing? Why was she screaming if they were playing? Why can’t I play like that with them? It doesn’t look that hard...” 

“Honey, it’s a game that only grownups can play, okay? No more questions.” Karen answered as she urged Mason to get his shoes and jacked back on. “Now, start listing your top twenty favourite ice cream flavors, won’t you? That’s even more fun!”


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shoutout to my editor in chief!

“Is it my birthday already!?” Owen moaned while finding himself unable to stay away from Claire’s breasts — as usual. She was finding his lips on them to feel extremely good, better than usual. 

It was after 9PM and after the incident with Mason about five weeks ago, the inevitable bees and birds conversation was bound to happen. Both Owen and Claire had to thank Karen for taking the kid away when the image was fresh in his mind and for easing up that parents-son conversation during their ice-cream. The couple had had about an hour to get it together and figure out how to handle this one.

They hadn’t gone into much detail, taking advantage of the fact that the kid was still too young to understand what was going on, so a straightforward answer and explanation should have done the job. Claire and Owen had decided to handle it the most casual way; if they acted like they had been doing something bad, then the whole thing would never die. 

Mason had been told that they had been having some alone time since no one was home, letting him know this was completely normal between two adults who were in a relationship. They’d also taken the opportunity to explain that if he ever found the door to her bedroom locked, then it meant they were having some alone time. It was a conversation that had lasted for about an hour but they both were relieved at how mature Mason was through it all. 

Claire giggled completely in the moment. Since their talk with her son, she had been able to enjoy sex with her boyfriend better than usual, without any worries about being caught, since Mason now knew to respect those alone times and boundaries. 

“They are more delicious than ever...” Owen nuzzled her chest, hearing her moan softly, both still keeping it low, but they played soft music in the bedroom now to help them muffle anything that might get past her bedroom walls and door. 

Owen could swear her breasts were bigger too, but he was not complaining, he was loving it. Claire kept brushing him off saying it was all in his imagination. 

The redhead flinched when he cupped them. “Ow!” She scolded him. “What did they even do to you!?” She playfully added at how hard he was playing with them. 

Owen chuckled and started teasing her, making sure his fingers rubbed them gently even through her groans. 

“You have them all sore already. How about you focus on something else?” She giggled, grabbing his wrists and pulling him away. 

Owen wiggled his eyebrows playfully and started to peck down between her breasts and her abdomen. He nibbled on her belly, making her moan softly, her fingers brushing the back of his head. 

“No... go back...up~” She nibbled on her lower lip when he started going south, asking him to keep kissing her abdomen and stay focused on that bloated area in her body. 

Even after spending a great night with Owen, the following morning Claire was dealing with a headache from hell and the fact that Mason had just dragged one of the kitchen stools all along the tile floor to reach out for some pop tarts didn’t help. 

The screeching sound almost made her lose it; she immediately covered her ears, feeling goosebumps rising on her arms. “Mason! God! How many times have I told you to lift it up and carry it over? Is that too hard to do? Is the stool too heavy for you?” 

The kid was looking at her with big green eyes, not understanding what he had done to deserve that scold. He looked down and frowned. It wasn’t until Owen fetched the box for the kid that he smiled, just at him though. The adult carried the stool back to its place and tilted his head, trying to find Claire’s eyes; she was completely lost in her own thoughts, rubbing her forehead while leaning against the counter.

“I’m sorry.” She murmured gently taking slow deep breaths, but Mason had left to his room feeling completely down. He had to finish get ready for school.

“Are you okay?” Owen frowned, brushing her long hair with his fingers, watching her massage her temples. She had been dealing with migraines for a couple of weeks now. 

“Yeah.” She lied with a shake of her head before taking the couple of pecks Owen was offering. 

Owen nodded, noticing she hadn’t touched her breakfast. 

“Can you drop him at his bus stop on your way to work? I um...I have half the day off and won’t leave until later.” She asked faintly. 

Owen kissed her forehead a held her close after feeling her arms wrapped around him. He brought her fruit bowl over and picked a piece of apple up and brought it to her lips. She looked away and shook her head. “Okay...” he didn’t fight her or forced her to eat. 

He slowly let go of her and went to check on Mason to let him know they would be riding his bike to the bus stop and to hurry. Claire went looking for a Tylenol for her headache and gulped it down with a sip of water. 

“Hey...hey...” The redhead frowned, stopping her son down the hall. “Aren’t you going to say goodbye?” She leaned down to his height and pushed his hair back. 

Mason was still a little upset, a deep frown between his eyebrows. He pouted and let Claire kiss his forehead. 

“I love you.” She offered softly. The kid nodded and hugged her lightly. 

“I love you too, mommy.” He said, before letting Owen lead him out, carrying the backpack for him and handing him the helmet Claire had made him get for the kids. 

Claire grabbed her coat and left almost behind them. She walked to the CVS two blocks down from her building. She nibbled on her lower lip and was greeted by one of the cashiers. It was a slow morning and she was very well known there, always running in every time she needed something for Mason ever since he was a baby. 

Claire took a deep breath and brushed her fingers down her hair. She casually looked around, feeling completely anxious about this whole thing. She turned to the aisle she was looking for, and felt a knot in her throat as she looked up the shelf. 

“Claire?!” A middle aged blonde woman with the pharmacy’s uniform greeted her. 

The redhead flinched, unable to reach for what she wanted and rested her hand on her chest, feeling her heart pounding fast. 

“How are you hun?” The woman smiled, taking in how nervous Claire looked. “What is it with you?” She chuckled. “You look like I just caught you buying porn!” She nudged her. 

Claire chuckled, shook her head, and frowned, feeling a horrible nausea invading her. She gulped and let the woman see the terrified look in her eyes.

Janet brought her attention to the type of products in front of Claire and smiled. “Oh my god!” She squealed. She had met Owen before, he had been around a couple of times, mostly when Mason was still wearing that arm cast a few months back.

“Shh...c’mon.” Claire begged her. “I hope it’s just really late PMS and not...” She gulped about her symptoms and covered her face with her hands; she was a week late. She was never late, and now that she had given it a week, plus all the other symptoms, she was dreading she was pregnant.

“He is a great guy. You two would make excellent parents.” She reassured her. “And a baby from him would be gorgeous. I’m jealous.” 

Claire shook her head, and grabbing one of the pregnancy tests, she let Janet take it to an empty register for her to pay for it without the need for anyone else learning about something Claire was obviously not ready to assimilate herself. 

Claire had already called work to let them know she was missing at least half the day, having lied to Owen earlier since she felt she needed to do this on her own, at home, in her bathroom. 

The redhead was as pale as a ghost and on the verge of tears while she took in the reality that she was pregnant, the strip test between her fingers. She wasn’t even able to tell how long she had been sitting on the edge of the toilet lid. 

She had her cellphone in her hands, her iMessage window with Owen open. She had deleted and typed at least five different ways to let him know she was pregnant, but for some reason she couldn’t bring herself to tell him. 

She finally let herself tear up. She had been very open to the fact that she didn’t want any more kids, and now that she was pregnant she didn’t feel happy about it, and it was making her feel guilty and horrible. She couldn’t tell him the news that he was going to be a father when she wanted to cry about it. 

She placed her iPhone on the sink counter and started to mentally go through her memories, trying to figure out where she had messed up: since the moment she started to be sexually active with Owen, she had been excessively careful.

She gasped, for it didn’t take her long to find a gap. She started looking around for his condoms. It was impossible to find them in those drawers. Claire made a mental note to reorganize them, there was a lot of crap in them they could just throw away. 

The first thing she did after finding the box was check the expiration date. They were still good for a couple of more years. Claire opened the box to find seven out of the twenty-four condoms gone. She shook her head, they had really gotten carried away that one weekend over a month ago. 

She then pulled out the ripped piece of newspaper Owen had left inside. She frowned and started reading it. The combination of feelings that the realization of Owen purposely using bad condoms awoke on her was too overwhelming to handle, and she ended up throwing up for at least half an hour. 

She was exhausted by the time she was done, her throat burning at the force it did to let all that out. She was crying while resting against the toilet. 

She was hurt and furious. She managed to stand up and wash her face and brush her teeth before calling work to let them know she’d be taking the whole day off. 

She sobbed and tried to drink half the glass of water she had on her night stand: after throwing up like that, she knew to stay hydrated. 

She couldn’t calm her nausea down and wasn’t able to take a bite of food without gagging. She knew it was her anxiety, and how upset she was, what was triggering her feeling like this. 

 

* * *

 

Claire was finishing a long shower of sobs by the time Owen and Mason made it home that afternoon. She combed her wet hair and changed into a comfortable pair of pants and a tank top. She took five more minutes in the bathroom, taking deep breaths. She didn’t know how she’d act the moment she saw him. 

The only thing she knew for a fact was that she was not telling him. She had already made up her mind about it. 

Claire grabbed the box of condoms still on the counter and tossed them into the bin next to her pregnancy test. She tied up the plastic bag and stepped out of the bathroom. 

Owen was surprised to see her home, but knew better than approach her or ask anything the moment her green eyes fell on him with a red warning burning inside of them. 

“Can I help you with that?” He asked softly, reaching out for the bag while smoothly trying to steal a kiss, but she pulled it away from him and turned her face to the side. He frowned and watched her walk out of the apartment. 

Once the door was closed behind her, she started tearing up. She quietly cried all her way down to the ally trash can where she started to feel completely sick. She opened her bag and threw up in it a couple of times before finding a way to tie it up again and drop it into the big metallic trash can. 

Claire took deep slow breaths on her way back up. Mason looked up from the video game he had loaded with Owen to greet her but she walked past them straight to the bathroom where she locked herself up and washed her face and brushed her teeth again. 

It wasn’t until dinner time that Claire got anywhere near Owen. He knew she was mad, in ten months of dating her he could tell when she hated his guts. The only difference was that he had no idea what he had done wrong this time around. 

He and Mason kept exchanging looks while Claire just looked down to her plate, picking on her food, trying to stay calm, knowing she’d end up sick if she didn’t. 

She took a deep breath and slowly turned her sight up, finally making eye contact with Owen. He smiled faintly, he knew that was a good sign but he couldn’t help frowning at how devastated and heart broken those beautiful eyes were. 

She felt tears building up behind her eyes, and Owen could tell she was fighting the need to break down. When Mason pointed out that she hadn’t touched her dinner, she forced herself to eat it all, little by little. 

After successfully putting Mason to bed, Claire headed to the kitchen so she could clean a little before heading to bed. She closed her eyes, feeling Owen’s hand over her belly, holding her still against his frame while he left small kisses down her naked shoulder. 

She gulped and tiled her head when he started leaving a line of adoring pecks up her neck as well. She managed to relax, but an inevitable frown still formed between her brows. 

“No...” She murmured pulling her face away when he tried to tilt it to the side so he could kiss her lips. 

He pouted and turned her around. “What is it, baby...?” He was sad and confused that she was so distant with him when that morning everything seemed okay between them. 

Claire shook her head and felt the usual headache she grew at night starting to hammer against her temples, and that horrible nausea building up in her stomach. 

He could see in her eyes that something had changed in the way she felt about him and it was unsettling, almost terrifying.

Owen gulped and took her hands in his; she let him play with their fingers and kiss her hands softly. The way his lips were pleading Claire for some insight on what was upsetting her made her gently pull them back. 

“I think...I’m going to bed.” She frowned and chewed on her lower lip. Claire pulled away and headed to the bedroom. 

Owen sighed, watching her walk away. He cleaned the kitchen for her, and once he made sure it was exactly how Claire liked it, he grabbed one of the rainbow jello cups he and Mason had done for dessert and headed to the bedroom.

Claire was curled up in bed, trying to calm down the insufferable nausea her state of mind and pregnancy were triggering in her. She was taking long deep breaths, hugging her pillow, completely lost in her thoughts. She was fighting to make sense out of his actions, unable to find out a valid motive and reason for him to use those condoms when he knew they were damaged. 

She shut her trail of thought when she felt him slipping into the sheets with her. She was on the verge of storming out to the bathroom to throw up when his arms held her close and he spooned her. 

He nosed into her hair and let his fingers brush down her arms gently, “I brought you dessert to bed.” He murmured, pointing out how she had skipped it back during dinner. 

Claire could feel the barf moving up her throat and shook her head. 

Owen nodded and nuzzled her neck gently, feeling her adjust against his frame. “So what happened between this morning and right now?” He murmured. 

Claire whimpered and didn’t say anything. “You know, I’m an idiot who has no idea what he did to upset the woman he is madly in love with.” He said with light sadness in his voice. 

Claire closed her eyes and moaned lightly, feeling his hands reach her belly and caress it softly. She moved her hands to rest on his and let him keep them there for a few minutes. 

He smiled at how she was slowly relaxing, brushing her fingers up and down his hairy arms. “Please don’t punish me so harshly...” he said about how much he hated it when she was distant and cold with him. 

Claire kept taking deep long breaths while his lips started to kiss down her shoulder, his hands still on her belly where she had them trapped. 

He poked her bellybutton with his index finger, making her giggle. “You are so silly.” She murmured. 

“Do you love me a little less?” He voiced his concern, his voice almost cracking as he did. 

Claire finally turned around and let him see how watery her eyes were. “No...” She promised, tearing up a little bit. “I don’t think I could ever love you less... not a little, not a lot...not one bit.” She assured him, even when the tears she was fighting were heavy with pain and distrust. 

Owen nodded and pecked her lips lovingly once she tilted her head up a little so he could kiss her. “No matter if the stupid things I pull off fly over my head and I make an asshole out of myself?” He wondered; that was clearly the case right now. 

“Just hold me please.” She asked, realizing his embrace and the warmth of his arms around her helped her to calm down. Even when she was starting to rethink the trust she had in him, he still made her feel safe.

She buried her face into his neck and took in his scent while she tried to remain calm. The smell of soap and just him, helped her keep it down. 

“Are you sure you don’t want some jello?” He tried one last time. 

She shook her head.

“I’ll feed you, it’ll be cute.” He kissed her forehead. 

She looked up and rolled her eyes, knowing he would never give up. She slowly sat up and adjusted on his lap. She smiled when his arm hugged her waist and nodded lightly. Claire opened her mouth, Owen smiling bright. He kissed her hands softly before he grabbed the spoon and fed her the first bite. 

The sugar-sweet taste of the jello made her stomach twitch a little. She licked her lips and let him feed her a second spoon.

“I love you, gorgeous.” He offered, kissing her jello flavored lips gently. “I would be lost without you.” 


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shoutout to my editor in chief!

It had been two weeks since Claire had found out she was pregnant; she had roughly calculated to be on her seventh week, which meant her symptoms were getting worse and harder to hide. 

The redhead was still keeping the pregnancy hidden from Owen and hadn’t told anyone yet. It was Janet at the local CVS who was helping her with morning sickness treatments and other things she might need, the employee still the only one who knew about Claire’s condition. 

The only nights Owen was staying over were Wednesdays now. Claire was still very much upset with him but Mason was always looking forward to their pizza night and she couldn’t keep that from her kid. 

Claire spent every night throwing up by the toilet, feeling completely restless and drained. The fact that she wouldn’t be able to suppress her symptoms around Owen, thus arising suspicion in him, kept her anxious; but to her surprise, when she was around the baby’s father, her morning sickness ceased and her headaches weren’t as strong. She also found it very comforting to sleep in his embrace and it was the only night of the week when she managed to get some sleep. 

However, the whole situation he had pulled off kept her from being able pretend nothing was wrong. Owen had slowly let her be, happy to be around when she agreed. They would still talk over the phone and his charm kept wooing her day after day, feeling like he was winning her over every morning. 

Claire wasn’t lying when she said she couldn’t stop loving him, not one bit, and she missed him horribly at night. She would text with him and sometimes let it get carried away, allowing him to have a heated conversation with his girlfriend while each of them rested in a half empty bed a couple of miles away from each other. 

That Friday night she asked him to spend the weekend over with her. It had been a couple of weeks now since the last time, and she missed him. It was a weekend he would have Lizzie with him too, so it would be fun for all four to hang out and plan a fun Saturday. 

Claire was caressing her belly while texting him. She couldn’t stop smiling at how goofy he was, and it killed her that she couldn’t find a way to ask him why he had harmed their thrust bond with something so insignificant. 

She had to take a deep breath, trying to keep herself from crying the silent tears she felt rolling down her cheeks. 

It didn’t take her long to tell him she was feeling tired and would see him in the morning after he picked Lizzie up. She made sure to let him know how much she loved him and missed him, how much she wished he were here, holding her and kissing her. It was more for herself, to remind her brain that she was madly in love with him and try to find a way to get to terms with the fact that she was carrying his child and not to overthink his motives behind that immature stunt with the condoms. 

Owen and Lizzie made it to the apartment at around 9AM that following day. Mason rushed over to the living room after hearing them unlocking the front door and stepping in. 

“Hey, what’s up?” Owen tilted his head when he saw the alarmed look in the young boy. 

“Mom has been sick all morning.” He frowned. He had been feeling funny too. “We decided to have fun with our leftovers last night,” He explained while Owen took his jacket off and started walking to the bathroom to check on his girlfriend. “And I think that’s why she’s throwing up.”

Claire was starting to deal with pregnancy cravings and she had found a way to disguise them by challenging Mason into eating with her some ‘crazy food’. The previous night they had ended up eating combinations of food that tasted disgusting, but Mason was a boy who found it funny. He had no idea how he had managed to have leftover noodles with peach jam for example, but Claire was enjoying it.  

The redhead had been sitting by the toilet throwing up soundly, unable to stop. She couldn’t help but cry while she got sick. It was horrible, that burning sensation in her throat on top of her already being exhausted and now drained from vomiting. She flushed the toilet after feeling like even her stomach had come up her esophagus. 

Claire closed the lid and rested against it, feeling how the nausea was still there, threatening her to go for a second round when she didn’t even have water left to bring out. 

She sobbed, cleaning her mouth with a piece of toilet paper. Mason was terrified, his mom almost never got sick and he couldn’t remember when was the last time he had heard her throwing up; this was probably the first time. 

“Babe, I told you I’ll be right out okay?” She said between crying. She felt like she had to stand up tall and pretend she was feeling great for that kid when she wanted to die. She knew Mason was probably worried sick and she hated to put him in that position, but she couldn’t control her morning sickness and it was something that was driving her crazy. She hated to be reminded that she couldn’t control everything. 

Claire knew it wasn’t Mason opening the bathroom door the moment she felt the brush of a broom running up and down the back of her shoulder. 

“There... there...” Owen tried to reassure her, standing a couple of steps away from her, rubbing her back with the broom. 

Claire managed to grab the brush and snatch the broom away from him. “Why do you have to be such an ASSHOLE!?” She was so upset that she found strength to get up and beat him up with the broom a couple of times before she hit him on the top of his head with all the strength she had left in her. 

The kids watched and laughed at how Owen sheltered his face with his arms while Claire went full piñata mode on him. The man rubbed the top of his head, that one had hurt and it was a miracle she hadn’t made him bleed.

Owen wrapped his arms around her and held her close once the broom hit the floor. “Shhh...” He pushed her hair back and kissed her sweaty forehead a couple of times. 

He looked down, tilting her chip up and frowned. Claire quickly turned her face away from him. She knew she was a mess and she stunk of vomit; it wasn’t sexy or attractive at all. 

He sat on the edge of the bed and pulled her to sit on his lap. She was still hiding her face from him. He reached out for the glass of water on the nightstand and helped her take some gulps. 

Claire barfed it and sobbed. “Gross, where did you get that water from?” She shook her head. 

“Baby, it’s the same water you always drink.” He frowned.

Claire shook her head, not wanting any, and cleaning her face and her mouth with her sheets. She managed to hide her face against his neck. He started to rub her belly gently in circles. She moaned, slowly relaxing in his embrace and caresses. 

Owen was quietly missing her kisses and how much love she injected in them. The past couple of weeks she had rarely kissed him, and when she did, it took a lot of wooing from his end to earn it. He nuzzled close and tried to find her lips now that she was clung to his neck and curled up on his lap. 

“Nooo...” She pouted. “I taste like vomit.” She frowned.

“I’m dying to kiss you, I don’t care.” He quietly begged. 

Claire made eye contact with him and frowned. She didn’t realize how much she had pushed him away until he tried to smoothly let her know. She teared up a little. “Let me go wash up and we can spend a couple of minutes cuddling.” She offered. She knew it would help the symptoms ease up too. 

Claire walked back to the bathroom and washed her face, she then started brushing her teeth. She moaned, feeling Owen hugging her from behind and kissing down her shoulder. She closed her eyes and leaned against him. She washed her mouth and, turning around, she took the hand towel from him. 

“May I please have a kiss?” He pleaded. Claire gulped, and nodding slowly she let him kiss her lovingly. She melted in his arms, she missed him and it hurt so bad that she couldn’t get herself to share the news with him. 

“I love you...so much.” She whimpered before she teared up. Owen smiled and parted his lips to tell her how much he adored her, but his thought was interrupted. 

“Ewwwwwww!!!” Lizzie cried from the kitchen. 

Both parents walked out of the bathroom to find a large puddle of vomit on the tile floor and Mason crying. 

“What did you guys eat?” Owen went looking for the newspaper and put some on the vomit while Claire picked her kid up and carried him to the bathroom. 

 

* * *

 

Brenda had agreed to pick Lizzie up now that both Claire and Mason were sick and Owen would have his hands full with both of them. Once the blonde girl was back with her mom, Owen took his girlfriend and her kid to the hospital. 

He helped Claire fill Mason’s form while she worked on hers. Once it was time for the doctor and the pediatrician to see them each respectively, Claire insisted for Owen to go in with Mason and she’d go in by herself. He carried the sick boy against his shoulder and pecked his girlfriend’s lips a couple of times. 

Claire sat on the hospital bed and let the doctor start with the general check up. She hadn’t done one since she had found out she was pregnant so she was grateful for it. 

She started answering the usual questions the doctor had about her symptoms and daily routine. Once the doctor asked her if she was pregnant, Claire said she was, and that she knew hers were morning sickness. 

She took that moment to talk about it with the doctor, see if she could recommend something for it since she was under a lot of stress.

The doctor recommended some breathing techniques as well as some exercise routines. Claire took a prescription for her prenatal vitamins and other suggestions the doctor had for the mom to be. 

On Mason’s side, the pediatrician also made sure to go through a check up with the kid and asked Owen a few questions about his habits and kinds of food he had eaten lately. Mason was the one telling him about how they had eaten all the leftovers in the fridge and ended up mixing left over pizza and Chinese with ice-cream and some slices of apple pie all into a huge bowl. 

The doctor didn’t think that was the source unless something in their peculiar dish was already bad. He requested a few samples to make sure he didn’t have a tummy worm or the flu. 

Mason’s prescription also included lots of fluids. The doctor had recommended pedialyte, which came in different flavors.  The kid was also told to rest for the rest of the day and keep it easy on his tummy, eating only crackers or toast. 

Mason fell asleep in the cab ride back home, curled up across the seat and his head on Owen’s lap. Claire spent it with her face hidden in Owen’s neck, letting the smooth brushing of his fingers through her hair relax her, along with the soft kisses he kept pressing on her forehead. 

Owen carried the boy to his bedroom and tucked him into bed, making sure he didn’t wake up, and closed the door behind him. 

“Do you want me to go to CVS and get both your prescriptions, babe?” He asked once he was out. Claire had failed to share with him what the doctor had suggested she take or show him her prescription. 

He found her staring blankly down at the newspaper he had set over the vomit like Molly had peed on that spot or something. He served the dog her food and the puppy happily started eating. She didn’t bother one bit, she was well behaved and that had helped Claire be more welcoming towards her.

“No. It’s okay, I’ll call to see if someone can bring it over.” She insisted. 

“I’ll clean that off, I promise.” Owen hugged her from behind and pressed adoring kisses down her neck. 

Claire placed her hand on her belly and he could feel how she was breathing fast while still trying to keep it calm. 

“Come on, let’s get into bed and cuddle. I want to take care of you.” He was pleading, not offering. 

Claire couldn’t keep her tears from rolling down her face. She gulped while she failed at controlling her sobbing. She had been stopping herself from going this far, but she honestly felt like she couldn’t do this any more. 

“I love you so much.” She covered her lips trying to keep herself from throwing up and saying something she truly thought she never would. 

Claire was always reminding him how much she loved him. She was always smiling and he could feel how grateful she was to have him in her life. He was someone she always wished she would have, and the kind of father Mason always asked for, to the first star he saw at night. 

But this time around, those words stung once his ears took them in. How could it be so painful to hear the woman of your dreams tell you that she loved you? Owen grew a frown between his brows, he could feel her pain. He had been able to feel it for the past couple of weeks, and every night that they didn’t spend together he tried to figure out what could he have said or done that morning to find her so detached from him. 

“I love you too...” He swore, unable to keep his voice from cracking and his jaw from shaking. 

He was standing in front of her, his hazel eyes terrified while looking into her heartbroken ones. He knew he had broken them, she was making sure he knew as much, even if she wouldn’t give him any insight into why. 

“I miss you.” She said softly, almost in a whisper that he was only able to catch because all his senses were paying attention to her. He could hear the rhythm of her heart beating and the sound of her lungs breathing. 

“I miss you too. I miss you so much.” His hands trembling as they reached out to hers. His fingers shyly played with hers, feeling that pinky promise ring she never took off that he had gotten her for Christmas. He twirled it around her finger, almost to remind her that he would die for her. That he was all in. 

“How...how do you... want me to believe that...that I can rely...” She started crying into her hands. “I can’t.” She shook her head.

Owen gulped and started tearing up. He hated to see her so devastated and for the look of it, she wanted to tell him what was it that had cost him the most precious thing he had ever gained in life, but was so painful that she didn’t even find the words and the way to tell him. 

“I really thought you could be the man for me.” Claire looked down to their hands and felt her heart sink into her stomach the moment she realized she was actually breaking up with him.

Owen tightened the grip around her hands, feeling how she was slipping away. He had everything with her. He had fallen in love with Claire the moment he’d seen her smiling and flirting with him across that gift shop at the zoo, and it had taken everything in him to make her change her mind about him after screwing up and letting a box of condoms make her think he was nowhere near the man she thought he was. 

“I love that you gave Mason everything that he ever wanted and needed in a father figure, and I really think you are a great friend to him and Lizzie.” She gulped, feeling how his hands were holding her waist tight and he was shaking his head. “She’s a very lucky kid, and I wish mine could have that...have you.” She started crying again. 

“No...please...don’t...” He started sobbing. His worst nightmare was more painful than he could have ever dared imagine. The fact that she was leaving him felt like someone was ripping his heart out of his chest, except that that would take him out of his misery, while in reality he had to live with the pain.

He completely missed her remark on how he was a friend to the kids. Claire needed a father for hers; both Mason and the baby she was carrying inside of her. She couldn’t trust him to be the head of her family and support her, team up with her, when he had failed to back her up in something so simple as contraceptives. 

“I can’t be with you anymore.” She sobbed, feeling how he was kissing her desperately, hoping his kisses would take her words back, change her mind.

“I’ll do anything...I want to be your knight in a shiny armor, be the one to back you up, help you raise your kid as my own.” He sobbed pushing her hair back, kissing her tears away. He didn’t even know how to ask for an explanation, it was like his subconscious knew he was too careless in many things and he had finally screwed up big time. 

“Please... don’t make this more difficult than it already is.” She begged him, her fingers brushing his hair back. She kissed him lovingly, injecting all the love she felt for him into it while she hugged his neck and let him press her body firmly against him.

Owen nosed into her hair and left adoring kisses down her neck, never would have he thought he would be kissing her one last time. Claire was sobbing hard, knowing she was breaking up with the father of her unborn child. 

She had gone through this once before, and her son had his heart broken for eight years straight because she had let Josh be part of this. She had spent every day wishing she had broken it off before getting her kid emotionally involved. 

“Kiss me...” Claire begged, feeling how his lips had been moving down her cleavage. Owen let his lips take hers and kissed her knowing how tomorrow, or that same night, he was not going to be able to do so. 

The redhead brushed her hands down his abdomen and felt how he carried her up bridal style and walked to the couch, where they cuddled. 

They had managed to calm down while they kissed for a few minutes. “I love you...” She assured him. “I will always love you.” She promised. “You are the love of my life.” She felt those painful tears rolling down her cheeks again.

The thought of Owen eventually moving on and finding another woman was driving her hormones crazy. She would raise his child without him, and that image was killing her. 

“I’m never getting over you, baby.” He promised, almost as if he could read her mind. “I promise I’ll win you back. I’ll prove to you that I can be someone you can rely your family on.” He was listening, and he knew her so well... they always finished each other sentences.

Claire felt that horrible nausea rolling up her stomach and making her feel completely sick. She adjusted in a way where his hands could fall on her belly, let him have contact with that secret little embryo who was desperate to have contact with him, and give it a last moment with him before he had to go. 

Owen let the rough texture of his digits run lightly against her soft creamy belly while leaning down and kissing her lips soundly. 

Claire fell asleep in his arms, Owen watching her every second as he let one hand caress her belly while the other one brushed her long red hair. He was crying quietly. He had never felt a heartbreak but he knew this went beyond that, he was not only losing the woman he was planning on spending the rest of his life with, but his family too. 

Claire slept for an hour and when she slowly sat up, he knew it was time to go. She could feel her body ready to throw up while they slowly walked to the door, not saying a word, just holding hands. 

He brought them to his lips and kissed them gently, making sure each freckle on her fingers knew he would miss them. She was looking down, regretting breaking up with him, but she was terrified of so many things, and on top of that unable to rely on him. She thought this was something she needed to do. 

Claire kissed him lovingly, murmuring into his lips that she loved him over and over again. He replied that he did too, each time, not missing a beat. They finally pulled back, both crying missing each other already. 

He sobbed and brushed his tears with his sleeve before slowly turning around and walking down the hall to the elevator. Claire stood there with her hand on her belly, watching the man she wished could be her kid’s dad walk away while carrying the fruit of his seed inside of her.

Once the elevator went down, she closed the door behind her and slowly walked into Mason’s room. She found a spot where to lie down and spoon her sick child. It was now just the two of them, along with his baby sibling to be. 

Claire knew she’d get through this, it would be hard but she had done it once before. She brushed Mason’s hair lightly to the side and kissed his temple before she tried to relax and rest next to the little man of the house. 


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to my editor in chief!

The most painful thing about Claire’s break-up was the fact that Mason had formed a deep and caring bond with Owen in the eleven months they had been dating, so the kid was also dealing with a heartache. It was understandable that he was missing Owen and his pain was just added to Claire’s. 

It didn’t seem to get better as days went by, either. Not only her morning sickness and other symptoms were getting worse and it felt like they were slowly killing her, but Mason’s way of handling the news that Owen wouldn’t be coming around anymore, relied completely on blaming Claire for it. 

The following Wednesday —only four days since the last time Claire had seen Owen, held him, kissed him, and had been able to hear him say how much he loved her — Mason was throwing the most heartbreaking tantrum of his eight years of life. 

Not even when Josh had stood him up for his birthday, Christmas, or any day in particular had the kid been like this. The fact that the smell of the pepperoni pizza in front of them was threatening to make Claire throw up didn’t help, along with her pounding headache. 

“But why can’t Owen come over and have pizza with me!?” Mason was crying; Owen had never left the kid stood up. Mason was still too young to understand how mom breaking up with her boyfriend meant he was out of both their lives. That night, Mason felt completely abandoned by the man he had grown to love like the father he had always wanted. 

Claire almost never cried in front of Mason. She was too proud to let him see her in a vulnerable position, or maybe it was because she wanted to stay strong for him and be able to offer him comfort. Though this time, she failed to keep her tears from quietly running down her cheeks. 

She sobbed and shook her head, looking down while serving the kid some pizza. Mason threw his plate into the box.

“I don’t want to eat until Owen is here!” He insisted. “You promised Wednesday pizza was something the three of us would do and he is not here!” He cried loud. 

Claire frowned, unable to scold him for his attitude. She didn’t have the energy and the pain in the kid’s voice and eyes were too heartbreaking for her to sit him down. 

“That’s how break-ups work, babe.” She was devastated. She missed Owen terribly and Mason was not helping by making her feel so guilty about it. “We are not together now so he doesn’t come around anymore.” She sobbed, resting her hand on her belly. She closed her eyes for a second and started breathing slowly and deep, trying to control the urge she felt of barfing every time she said out loud she was no longer with Owen.

“Just like when you and dad weren’t together anymore so he stopped caring about me too!” He cried, his little brain getting to that conclusion. 

Claire gasped and whimpered a couple of times, “No. it’s nothing like that.” She mumbled a few words, unable to explain to her kid how Josh not reaching out had nothing to do with the divorce, without sounding like the heartbreaking reality that his dad simply didn’t care about him. “You are too young to understand, so please drop it!” She demanded firmly. 

“Stop telling me that!” He was tired of hearing her treat him like a baby. He was eight and the fact that he had been raised by a single mother and had to learn be more independent than kids his own age, gave him a level of emotional maturity that was underestimated. 

“Sit down and eat your food please.” Claire sobbed. “I have my reasons to have ended it with him and I’m not going to allow you to scold me for it. I’m still your mother and I know what’s best for us.” She cried. 

“It’s not fair that he doesn’t come play with me and eat pizza with me because you don’t want to!” He sobbed loudly. “I don’t have to stop loving him because you don’t love him anymore! That’s not fair!!” 

Claire tilted her head. “You think I don’t love him?” She shook her head and gulped softly. “Babe, I love him so much. I swear I do...and I miss him.” She assured the kid. “I wish he were here eating pizza with us too! There’s nothing in this world that I want more than to have him stay in our lives and be there for you…for—“ She paused and rested her hand on her belly. “For us.” 

“Then why isn’t he?” Mason coughed a few times because of the intense crying he had going on. 

Claire frowned, green eyes falling on his. She slowly looked down and shook her head. She didn’t know how to explain, not to mention she wasn’t ready to tell Mason he was going to be a big brother. 

“FINE!” He started to storm off, but Claire blocked him. He didn’t fight it and held his mom’s waist tight, resting his head on her belly. He cried uncontrollably, Claire brushing her hands through his dark hair, crying too. 

Mason eventually fell asleep, and just like the past four nights, they slept in his bed, cuddled up, just the two of them. It was something they always did when either one of them was sad or sick. 

 

* * *

 

Claire had been waiting for Mason every day at his bus stop for the past few days since the break-up. They would usually go grab some ice-cream or anything the redhead was craving and then he would go back to work with her. 

Once the bus came to a stop she smiled faintly and watched the same usual kids come down from the bus. She tucked her hair behind her ears and stepped on once the driver nodded his head. Lately, Mason had been falling asleep in his seat, completely drained, after the emotional breakdowns he’d had back at home because he missed his best friend. 

Claire smiled and greeted Lizzie, who was playing with one of her friends. “Hey, where’s Mason?” She asked her softly, not seeing her kid anywhere on the bus.

“He didn’t get on.” She shook her head. “He said he had to stay and do something.” She shrugged. 

Claire felt her heart drop into her stomach and gulped. She nodded and smiled sweetly at the girl. The redhead rushed out of the bus and went looking for a cab that could take her to the school. 

Once she got there, Claire started feeling that desperate suffocation and fear that came with not knowing where your kid was. No one in that damn building had an idea that Mason had simply snuck out and gotten out of the bus. 

The redhead ended up throwing up all her guts in the girls’ restroom. She cleaned her face and by now she was already carrying a pocket toothbrush and toothpaste with her in her purse all the time, so she brushed her teeth too. 

It was on her way out of the building when she called Karen. She was crying uncontrollably, it was hard to keep her phone in her hand, feeling how her fingers were trembling. She told her about Mason sneaking out of school and how she didn’t know where he was. They agreed to meet at Karen’s apartment so they could work on a search party with Zach, Gray, and Scott wiling to help. 

From school, Mason had walked a few blocks down to the subway station. He knew where to get that far on his own. He and Claire had taken it together countless times, the train wasn’t new to him. 

Once in there, he asked an adult how many stops it would take him to get to the area he wanted to get to, and just as advised, he got out at that one. 

He was also very familiar with that part of the city, his mom had walked him around it constantly to go to the place he now wanted to get to. 

Claire and Mason always made a few stops before getting to their destination, so the kid did the same usual stops, so he could trust his memory and ask people around for directions. He made it to the Macy’s that Claire always walked into and found himself going through it so he could end on the other side of the street. They always did that. 

From there, they always walked a few blocks down and got some ice-cream. The eight-year-old started walking that direction until he found the ice-cream shop; he didn’t have any money with him so he just started to look around, trying to figure out where he should head to next. 

Mason was a very observant boy and he had a pretty great sense of orientation. He always liked to look out the window when he and his mom were in a cab and pay attention to the different places they left behind. He was also starting to learn some of the most important streets and avenues, not to mention he already knew his home address, as well as Karen’s. 

He adjusted his backpack and started walking down the road. He figured they always took a cab from there but he didn’t have any money and so he would walk his way there. 

To his misfortune, it soon started raining, but that didn’t stop him from keep going. Whatever place he had set his determination into getting to, he was going to make it — he was after all Claire’s son. 

In the meantime, both his cousins were looking for him around town, going to those places he liked the most moving between the subway and cabs. Each one took a different side of town so they could do it faster. They asked around if anyone had seen that handsome little boy with penetrating green eyes and freckles twinkling across his nose. 

Karen had been the one to go to the police and let them know her nephew was missing. Claire had already lost it a couple of times and she couldn’t stand up from the toilet since the frustration didn’t work well with her usual morning sickness. 

The elder sister also thought it was better if she stayed home, in case Mason made it back on his own, and she also kept her cellphone close by, in case the kid called her. 

Scott took his car and started looking for his nephew around the school covering that area since that’s when he was last seen. Once Karen was back with Claire, she stayed with her by the toilet, making sure she kept hydrating while the blonde called every mom and dad in Mason’s class, trying to see if any of their kids knew where he was. Even Brenda had interrogated Lizzie, but the blonde girl kept promising she didn’t know anything. 

“We are going to find him, I promise.” Karen frowned, concerned about the way this was triggering so much sickness into her sister. She rubbed her back and handed her the glass of water. 

Claire gagged it out and shook her head. “Gross.” She whimpered.

“Claire, it’s just water.” She tilted her head. 

“Well, it tastes like cat piss.” She pushed the glass away. She had been having trouble keeping tap water down, not tolerating the flavor she was lately tasting in it.

Karen frowned and sniffed into the glass. She didn’t find anything wrong with it, “I’ll go get you a fresh glass.” She offered before she stood up and trotted to the kitchen. 

It took Mason an hour to get to his destination by foot. He was exhausted, and he hadn’t been able to stop crying, not to mention he was completely soaked, as well as his backpack and his school notebooks and textbooks. 

The boy looked up and sniffed when he recognized the building. He managed to sneak inside at the first chance he got and rode the elevator up. He found the apartment number he was desperate to get to and sobbed a couple of times. 

Mason was dripping onto the floor while he reached out and shyly knocked on the door. The minute that it took for the door to be answered felt like an hour for him. 

“What’s up, Ace!” Owen smiled for a moment happy to see the kid standing there. Molly had come running and greeted Mason happily. Owen looked around, his heart stopping at the hope that his mom would be with him. “Is everything okay?” He said worried, finally taking in the state Mason had made it to him. “Where’s your mom?” His voice cracked, the worst of thoughts invading his mind. 

Mason completely broke down and threw himself against him and held him tight. Owen didn’t lose a moment to kneel down to his height and hug him back lovingly. 

“She doesn’t know I’m here.” He confessed. “I want to hang out with you but she won’t let me.” He sobbed.

Owen had to brush the few tears running down his cheek. These past five days had been horrible. He missed Claire and Mason too. It took a lot from him to stop himself from calling her and texting her. 

“You didn’t come over for Wednesday pizza last night.” The kid added, his tears running down his already soaked face.

“C’mon…let's get you out of these clothes before you get sick.” Owen suggested upon closing the door behind them. 

Owen helped Mason out of his backpack and then pulled his shirt over his head and helped him step out of his shoes, socks, and jeans. 

The man went looking for a towel and turned the heater on a higher temperature so the boy could get warm. Owen came back not only with a towel, but also with one of his shirts. It was going to be huge on Mason but the other clothes he had were Lizzie’s.

Once he made sure the boy was dried and comfortable on the couch snuggling a blanket while drowned in that big shirt, Owen went to the kitchen and brought him a glass of milk and some cookies. 

“You know I have to call your mom and tell her you are fine.” Owen was honest with Mason. He knew Claire was probably freaking out looking for him everywhere.

The boy nodded and looked down when taking one of the cookies. “Do you still want to play with me and have pizza with me even if mom doesn’t want to?” He frowned. 

“Hey...we are buddies right?” Owen assured him, messing with his hair like he normally did. “Nothing is going to change that. I promise. How about I call your mom to let her know you are here and then we order a pizza to make up for the one we missed yesterday?” Owen suggested.

Mason smiled and nodded while taking a sip of his milk. “Can we play too?” Owen had some dope video games that mom never approved of, and they always played them behind her back. 

“Yeah. Wanna turn it on while I call for the pizza and stuff?” Owen suggested. 

Mason jumped out of the couch to pick a game and set everything up so he could play with his favorite person after his mom.

Claire and Karen were sitting on the couch in her living room. The redhead kept her head against her sister’s shoulder, unable to take her eyes away from her cellphone. She kept feeling nauseated, but having Karen with her and feeling her fingers rubbing her arm lightly helped a little.

Karen had been wanting to address the obvious elephant in the room and was slowly gaining impulse to do it. “So...where’s Owen?” She casually asked. 

After almost a year, Karen had gotten to know him pretty well. Everybody in the family adored him. The Mitchell brothers thought he was the most badass man ever, especially after they had gone karting once with him and Mason. He had managed to woo Claire’s mother and the woman was fascinated by him, not to mention her dad found him to be a remarkable man, especially after he had noticed how much Mason looked after him and the many things he had taught the kid that were boy exclusive. 

Claire frowned and hugged her sister’s waist tight, that was enough of an answer for her. 

“What happened? You two are so in love and he is so good to Mason.” Karen was curious, she really thought her sister had won the jackpot with him. 

Claire was in desperate need to talk this through with someone, and knew it wouldn’t be a better timing than the one in front of her. “You know...I really found it extremely devastating after our fight, the day Mason broke his wrist.” She recalled. Karen had come over to check on her nephew after hearing the news and Claire was unconsolable. 

She had spent a few hours of the night calling Owen and leaving him voicemails telling him she wasn’t doing well because of the fight and she had to see him. That he was the only person who could make her feel better. If he could come over and hold her so they could calm down together. 

Owen had immediately showed up at her apartment after he got her voicemails and they had spent the night cuddling, letting that awful day behind them. 

“But he really is a child, and so careless and...” Claire sighed and nibbled on her lower lip. “I needed him to back me up in the most simple of things and he failed to do that.” She looked down and sobbed. 

“What did he fail at, Claire? Because he has given you so much in so little time. He even helped my nephew get over that asshole of a father!” Karen was personally grateful for that.

“Remember that flu I caught for New Years?” Claire refreshed her memory. “Well...you know how antibiotics screw with birth control pills...” Claire slowly looked up to her sister; she didn’t need to say anything more for Karen to figure out she was with child.

“Oh my god! You are pregnant!” Karen smiled happily and hugged her sister but let go the second she didn’t feel her as excited about this. “Wait you broke up with him because he knocked you up?” 

“No. I broke up with him because I needed him to back me up with contraception and he fooled me by using some recalled condoms he found in the sink counter drawer.” It was clear Claire was still upset about this. 

“Hun, maybe he didn’t know.” Karen frowned, pushing her sister’s hair back lightly. 

“He did. I found the recall claim in the box after throwing up my guts.” She teared up hiding her face. “And you know I didn’t want more kids. I hate myself for hating this.” 

Karen realized how bad this offense was and could understand why Claire felt so insulted and hurt. “Well...if you don’t want the pregnancy why don’t you...” the way Karen was looking at her sister was enough for her to avoid finishing her thought out loud. 

“That’s not an option, Karen!” Claire felt a little offended, even when she was pro-choice and even had gotten into a little trouble with Brenda after Lizzie had taken that mentality after her a few months back. She caressed her belly. “I love him and everything he is...including this baby.” She smiled faintly, the first smile she had offered towards the pregnancy and admitted she loved her baby to be.

“You know he is not Josh, right?” Karen knew her sister too well and knew it was the terror of going through the same thing again what had ultimately led her to push the man she was madly in love with away. 

“No. He is a different kind of immature.” She shrugged, still sad because a part of her didn’t care and she still loved him regardless, but she thought this was for the better. 

“No. He is the kind of man that would love that baby to death and be the best dad that not only that baby needs but also that Mason needs. Or didn’t you once tell me that any woman would be lucky to have him be the father of her child?” Karen raised an eyebrow. “Upset that Brenda was doing to him what you are now doing to him...what did he say when you told him?” 

“I didn’t. He doesn’t know.” Claire nibbled on her nails. 

“God, Claire! He doesn’t deserve this. Your words, not mine.” Karen shook her head. “And I can tell that it’s killing you not to be with him and to do this without him.” 

The sound of Claire’s cellphone ringing interrupted them. The redhead quickly reached for it, not even reading the caller ID. “Baby!?” She sobbed, thinking, hoping, that it was Mason.

Hearing her say that knowing it wasn’t addressed towards him, made Owen feel his heart break even more than it was. “Hey babe...” his voice cracked. 

Claire started crying hearing his voice. She missed him so much and hearing him call her babe didn’t help at all. 

“Mason is here with me. He told me he sneaked out of his school bus to come see me.” He closed his eyes.

“Oh god....is he? Is he okay?” She was shaking. Karen looked up, realizing Mason had been found. “He is with Owen. He is okay.” Claire told her sister before going back to Owen. “I’m sorry he disturbed you like this.” She apologized. 

“Hey...hey...it’s okay. We are going to have pizza and play some video games, is that okay? Maybe you can give him some time to calm down and pick him up in a couple of hours once it has stopped raining?” 

Claire sighed and watched her sister use her own cellphone to let her kids and husband know that Mason was safe at Owen’s and they could go back home; that she would meet them there after she made sure Claire was okay. 

“Thank you.” She added after a few seconds of silence. “I miss you, baby.” She teared up brushing her belly softly. “Do you...miss me?” She cried on the line. 

“Of course I do, Pookie.” He let her hear him cry. Mason was ready with the controllers, but he couldn’t help frowning while casually paying attention to what Owen was saying to his mom over the phone. 

Claire smiled softly. “I wanted to call you today. I needed you here with me.” She confessed. 

“And I would have been there in a heartbeat. I promised you I will be there for you and Mason no matter what, didn’t I?” He reminded her. He had made her that promise back at the subway station the day they had met, that she could call him when she needed somebody. She was also wearing a white gold ring around her pinky finger that symbolized that promise. 

 Claire nodded. “I need you.” She breathed into the phone. 

“I love you...” He replied. 

After hanging up, Owen cleaned his tears with the sleeve of his shirt and met Mason on the couch where they quietly started playing. 

“You know...she loves you too and misses you, it’s not only me.” Mason confessed now that he had calmed down. 

Owen turned to look at Mason with those sad hazel eyes and nodded lightly before he sniffed a couple of times. 

Mason gulped. He had never seen Owen so vulnerable and crying. It made him think it was okay to tell him his mom felt the same way. “She has spent this week so sick, more than that Saturday and I know it’s not the crazy food she’s been making us eat.” He assured him. 

Claire had taken on the craving of eating everything with lemon. She had even squeezed some in her pudding the other night, that after decided to add some ketchup to it. 

“Oh yeah?” Owen chuckled, remembering how Mason said they had started eating leftovers all mixed up, which Claire never did. 

“She had a bowl of my Cocoa Puffs with lemon the other day and she added pieces of cheese to it.” Mason gagged. “I thought it was fun but it tasted awful, no wonder she ended up through it all up a few hours later.” He shrugged. 

Molly soon jumped onto the couch and greeted the kid again before finding a warm spot on the blanket and falling asleep. Mason looked down at her and up at Owen: he knew the dog was not allowed up on the couch back at home.

Their pizza had arrived a while back and they were halfway through it. Owen reached out for another slice while he frowned, thinking about the stuff Mason was telling him. 

“Maybe she’s just trying to make dinner fun for you guys.” He shrugged 

“Well before meeting you fun dinners were at Chuck E Cheese’s.” Mason was not stupid. “And she’s been doing this since you stopped coming over often. I think she doesn’t want you to know she likes disgusting food.” 

“That’s crazy, why wouldn’t she want me to know she’s craving all sorts of...oh.” Owen frowned. 

“See!” Mason could tell something had clicked on Owen’s mind. “You wouldn’t love her any less for liking her ice cream with tomato soup would you?” 

“No...I would love her even more.” Owen sighed. He felt happy about what he thought was the reason behind her unusual cravings, but at the same time devastated he didn’t have her and she was out there carrying his child.

It took him five minutes to connect the dots and realize the reason why she was mad, and what he had done to lose her. It all added up, and looking back, it hadn’t been worth it: he had exchanged a lifetime with her and the opportunity to be there for his baby for a morning of intensive sex on a loop. He was that stupid after all. This is what she meant when telling him that she couldn’t rely her family on him. 

Owen was suddenly feeling sick himself. The man she needed him to be, the one she could count on, would have told her to hold on that he would run to the pharmacy three blocks away and get some condoms, that he had her back on this. 

Owen and Mason had been playing for a couple of hours now and they had finished their pizza. It had stopped raining and it was already dark. 

Claire was outside his apartment. She was taking deep breaths and fixing her hair. She had been throwing up all afternoon and crying on top of that, so she knew she didn’t look her best, but she still wanted to look presentable for Owen. 

Molly was at the door, scratching the floor and sniffing soundly while crying. She could smell Claire on the other side, finding courage to face Owen for the first time since breaking up with him.

“What is it girl?” Owen paused their game and headed to the door to check on the puppy. She started wagging her tail and barking loudly. She jumped up and down. “Do you need to go tinkle?” He wondered and slowly opened the door.

Even pale and with deep rings under her eyes, Claire never looked more beautiful to him. Molly started greeting her but neither adult paying attention to her. 

“Hi...” She managed to breathe, before feeling his arms tightly around her waist, kissing her lovingly and desperately, like he didn’t think he would ever kiss her again and if he didn’t do it now he would miss the chance. 

Claire started crying when she heard him sob, both pairs of hands trembling while holding each other. She nosed into his neck for a second before feeling his lips kissing down her neck and taking in her scent. 

“I’m sorry...I’m sorry...” She begged about leaving him, hurting him, almost stealing from him the opportunity to be the father he always wished he could be. 

“Shhh...” He shook his head, his shaky fingers cupping her face, making eye contact with her for a second. 

“I love you. I love you.” She assured him before feeling their lips kissing once more. 

“I love you too.” He added between kisses.

After they managed to calm down, Owen took her in. She rushed over to Mason and started crying again. She kissed his forehead a few times “Don’t you do this to me again!” She begged him. She brushed her fingers down his cheek and made sure he was okay. 

Owen brought her a glass of water and kissed her forehead softly. She sat on his couch next to Mason and, smiling, she took the glass, feeling how Owen was cleaning her tears.

Claire slowly brought the glass to her lips and took a sip. She immediately gagged it up, “gross.” She shook her head.

Owen now knew the reason why water gave her nausea, even if it was something peculiar for a pregnant woman, after all she needed to drink as many fluids as she could. 

He didn’t say a word and went back to the kitchen. He had gotten Lizzie some of that Dasani Drops and they had all sorts of flavors. He squeezed some in the water bottle he had opened for her and gave Claire the now pink liquid. 

He sat next to her and ran his arm around her shoulder. He had decided not to tell her that he knew she was pregnant with his baby, instead he hoped she’d soon feel he should know and tell him herself. 

He kissed her forehead and the redhead slowly took a sip of the drink. She smiled, liking the flavor, it was pink lemonade. He had been listening when Mason had said she was squeezing lemon on everything, so he squeezed some in her water too. 

Claire started gulping it all fast and once over she set the empty glass on the coffee table and hugged him gently. 

She quietly let him go back to his game with Mason. Claire slowly adjusted against his chest, his arms around her while he kept the controller on one side. 

The redhead slowly fell asleep, moaning and happily nuzzling close to him back in the arms of the man she loved, feeling how his warm embrace relaxed her and their baby, keeping her symptoms under control. 

Owen smiled and kissed her forehead gently before letting his hand run along her belly and rest it there for a moment. “I love you...” He offered before his attention went back to his game with Mason. 


	15. Epilogue

Claire and Mason spent the night at Owen’s. He simply couldn’t bring himself to wake her up and by the time she did, Mason had already passed out on the couch next to them. 

The young boy slept in Lizzie’s bed while Owen and Claire had snuggled into his king sized one. She spent the whole night clung to him like a koala baby to its mother. He couldn’t move a little without her whimpering, asking where he was going. 

That following morning, he couldn’t get enough of their kisses. He casually started his routine, planting loving kisses down her neck and then traveled down between her breasts until finally finding his favorite spot between her legs, but that morning he just wanted to make up for the time lost and he stopped at her belly, spending a couple of minutes kissing and nuzzling it. 

Claire giggled and let her green eyes find his once he was up. She was impressed at how Owen had gotten Mason’s clothes hung in the bathroom so they could dry through the afternoon and night, but she had come prepared with a fresh outfit for her kid. 

He had also taken his books and textbooks and laid them all out on the kitchen counter so they could dry. There were many aspects in Owen that made him a great partner and Claire couldn’t wait to start this new journey from scratch with him. 

“I love you...” She smiled lovingly and injected all that familiar adoration into a kiss. This was the first time in three weeks that he heard her saying it like she always used to. 

“I love you too.” He assured her. “I love you more than anything, baby.” He added.

She nibbled on her lower lip and blushed lightly. “Owen?” She giggled. 

“Hmmm?” He mumbled, while kissing her hands and then her lips and leaving adoring kiss all over her face. 

“You are going to be a daddy.” She teared up, happy to say that out loud for the first time in three weeks. 

“I am...?” He cried, the biggest of smiles growing on his face while her hands pushed his hair back and she kissed his happy tears. 

“You are...” She sobbed. “I’m two months pregnant.” She shared, that’s what she had roughly calculated. 

“I’m going to be a daddy…again!” He echoed and chuckled, before kissing her lovingly over and over again.  

He moved back down to her belly and started leaving adoring kisses on it. He nuzzled it gently. “Hello.” He offered making Claire giggle and burst out into crying. “I’m your daddy and I love you.” He promised, feeling Claire’s fingers brushing his hair to the side while she sobbed. His hazel eyes looked up, locking with Claire’s, both of them smiling through happy tears. “and I love your mommy too.”

“We love you too.” She nodded. “You are going to be the best father in the world.” She smiled. “You already are.” 

Owen grinned and adjusted, letting her nuzzle close and get comfortable in his embrace, his hands falling on her belly, unable to stop caressing it. 

“Can we name it Owen Jr?” He offered while nibbling on her earlobe.

“What if it’s a girl?” Claire shook her head.

“I don’t see a problem on that. Owen is a very pretty name for a gorgeous little girl, too.” He insisted. 

“I like Benjamin if it’s a boy and Amelia if it’s a girl.” She offered softy, nosing close into his cheek before they shared a kiss. 

She had always wanted to name her kids after an important historical character, give them a name with some meaning, but with Josh they had ended up naming their son after the city he had been conceived in, and now she was hoping maybe her wish would come true. 

“We can call one Benjamin, but I want most of them to be Owen Jr.” He insisted. 

Claire chuckled, adjusting in his arms. She had missed his silliness. “Oh baby, there’s not going to be more. This one is it.” She let him now, her eyes fixed on his, assuring him she meant it. 

He frowned. He knew that look in her face too well. 

“So you are calling the hospital and scheduling a vasectomy.” She patted his cheek with her hand before kissing him a couple of times. 

She looked up and smiled, taking in his face and how he didn’t know how to react to that. 

“Why do you want to cut my balls off?” He cried, having to move his hands from her belly down and cup his bulge, not liking the sound of her demand.

“I’m done with birth control pills and I don’t trust you with condoms.” She casually shrugged, letting him know that she had found his precious recalled ones. 

Owen gulped lightly, knowing there was no turning back.

“So if you want to have sex ever again, you have to get those boys snipped.” She murmured, like it was the most casual thing to say.

“Alright, baby, whatever you say.” He sweat while agreeing to her condition.

“Thank you.” She smiled lovingly into his lips as if this was something he was volunteering to do. 

Claire nuzzled into him and pecked his lips gently a couple of times, moaning and relaxing in his embrace, feeling his lips kissing her forehead and his fingers finding their way back around her belly. 

“You are coming back home with us, right?” She murmured, kissing down his neck lovingly. 

“Yes. I can go back with you guys and go to work from there.” He agreed. It was Friday after all. 

“No...” She blushed and shook her head, kissing his lips lovingly. “I mean permanently.” She offered, nibbling on her lower lip. 

Owen grinned. “You want me to move in with you?” He kissed up her face adoringly. 

Claire nodded. “With your family: me, Mason, and this little one.” She rubbed the hand he had resting on her belly. 

He nodded happily, unable to form words, as he pecked her lips over and over.

“And I guess Molly can come too.” She rolled her eyes playfully, feeling how the puppy had jumped into bed with them and was licking their faces. 

Owen nodded and held her tighter in his embrace. “I love my family.” He sighed contently. 

“Your family loves you too.” 

 

_**~ • To Be Continued • ~** _


	16. Sequel: Snips n’ Snails & Puppy Dog Tails

 

You can read the sequel [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17674100/chapters/41686268)


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